The Daybreakers: Zita's Gate
by mallow45
Summary: When Jack's father is arrested, his family is forced to become the Osbornes. Jack, now Zach must get used to life in a small town. But there are more evil things going on in Toontown. Zach is a Daybreaker and he must team up with 6 others to save Toontown
1. Chapter 1

_Chapter 1:The break in_

It was the middle of the night when they came.13 year old,blue dog Jack Greene was in his room sound asleep. Suddenly the sound of breaking glass woke him up. A toon with a black ski mask pulled over his head had broken into Jack's room. "Turn over on your back." the toon said. Jack did as he was told. He taped his hands together and slapped ducktape onto his mouth. The toon pulled him downstairs. His sister Layla,and his mother Ana were both on the floor out cold.

Jack stared at them wide eyed. He couldn't say anything with the tape over his mouth. There were two other ski masked toons. "They tried to resist," one of them said "We taught them a lesson." Layla woke up and got back on her feet. Followed by Ana. "Where's our dad?!" Layla demanded. They ignored her. Two of the masked toons came up from behind and taped their hands together and taped their mouth. They pushed all three of them onto the couch. "Listen very carefully," the first one said. "We are very serious,if you don't do what we say,we will kill you. This cellphone will ring in a minute." He held up a cellphone. "Mrs. Greene When I put it to your ear you will say Don't talk or they will kill us. Got it?" Ana nodded.

He removed the tape from Ana's mouth. Ana winced in pain,but didn't say anything.

The cellphone rang. The toon answered it and put it to Ana's ear. "Ana are you and the kids okay!?" Jack's father,Eric shouted. "Don't talk or they will kill us," Ana said. The toon hung up. "Now we will be leaving," the toon said. "If you tell anybody what has happened here tonight,I will come back and kill all three of you." They freed their hands and left. "W-what was that?" Jack sputtered. It took all of Ana's strength not to burst into tears. "I wish I knew," she said. Then they heard their door being kicked in. "Police,stay where you are!" an officer shouted.

About 50 officers came in and cuffed the Greenes. "Whats going on?" Ana asked very scared. One of the officers walked up to the three of them. "Mrs. Greene,I'm afraid your house is being arrested," one of them said. "Are WE under arrest?" Jack asked. "Well no,I can have the cuffs removed if you will cooperate. "We'll cooperate," Ana said with a sigh. "My name is agent Niel," the officer said. "Where is our dad?" Jack asked.

"I'm afraid your dad has been arrested Jack," Niel said. Jack was totally stunned. "But why?"Jack demanded. "Your dad was part of a group that created illegal weapons," he explained. "We are trying to convict the leader,but have had no luck." "I don't believe this!" Ana shouted. "How could he get us into this mess?!" The officers were taking the Greene's items from the house. "We are going to drive you to a hotel," Niel said. "There's a van parked outside." On the way to the hotel,three cogs had blocked their path. Niel wasn't in the mood,so he ran them over. In the hotel room the Greenes were getting ready for bed. "You do know that you will not be able to go back," Niel said. "Then where will we go?!" Jack asked. "As long as your father is cooperating,we will put you in the WSP." "What's that?" Jack and Layla asked at the same time. "The Witness Security Program,"Niel said. "It's where you change your identities and move far away from your original home.

"Now we will discuss what name you will be going by," Niel said.


	2. Chapter 2:The Osbornes

_Chapter 2:The Osbornes_

_September 4_

_A week has passed since those guys broke into our house. Me,my sister,and my mom have been sitting in the hotel with nothing to do,except watch TV. We're not even allowed to use the phones. We're supposed to move to our new home tomorrow._

Jack closed his journal. He wrote in it everyday. He first got the idea to write in a journal when he saw his dad do it. "What are you writing dad?" Jack would ask. "Just some thoughts," Eric said. Jack was in their hotel room sitting on the bed. His mom and sister were being interviewed by some officers. Niel opened the door. "Come,we're leaving," Niel said. "I thought we were leaving tomorrow," Jack replied. "We are,but some cogs are giving us trouble,we need you to hold them off." They went down to the lobby and got in Niel's van.

When they got to Toon HQ,it was surrounded. "Damn,you were'nt kidding," Jack said. They got out of the car and prepared for battle. Jack got out two squirt guns and took down 3 cogs. Niel destroyed 5 cogs with a water shotgun. "Fall back,they are too strong!" a cog shouted. "Not so fast!" Jack shouted. He hit them with a geyser. They were all gone.

_The next day_

"I want you to use your new names even when you are speaking privately. From now on you can't contact friends or family from your past lives," Niel said. "You are now the Osbornes." "I'm going to drive you to the airport,and you will be leaving for Toontown,Elko." Jack had never heard of a place called Elko in Toontown. They were on the plane for 3 hours before they got to Elko. Their new house was VERY small. When they finished putting their things into their new house,it was 5:00 in the afternoon. "Well I guess this is goodbye," Niel said. "It's time for the Osbornes to get on with their lives."

Ana Greene,now Terry Osborne. Layla Greene,now Lily Osborne. And Jack Greene,now Zach Osborne.

Elko was a small town in the middle of nowhere. It was mostly peaceful despite cogs being there. It was kind of hard to believe they were still in Toontown.. Mrs. Osborne said that she would be opening a bookstore. Before Elko she had been a gag shop owner. But there were not as many cogs in Elko. Zach and Lily were disappointed when they found out how small their rooms were. "Oh,well this sucks," Zach said. "Tell me about it," Lily replied. It was like an oven during the day. Thankfully the Osbornes found two air conditioners. Zach started to think about the things he and his dad had did together.

When Jack was nine,his father had taught him how to battle cogs. They had practiced all day every day for months. "Wow you're a quick learner Jack," Eric said. "Well hitting cogs with gags isn't that hard," Jack said. 4 telemarketers flew in front of them. Eric got out a few cream pies. "Wait dad,I can take these guys down," Jack said. Eric smiled. "Show em' what you're made of," Eric said. Jack squirt the 4 of them in the eye. Which gave him enough time to slam cream pies into their faces. They exploded. "That's my boy," Eric said.

Zach went out to explore Elko. He found the school he would be going to. A sign read:_ Elko middle school. Classes start September 6th! _That meant Zach would be going to school tomorrow. Would Zach ever be able to pull himself together? He just hoped those guys wouldn't find his family.


	3. Chapter 3:The injuries

_Chapter 3: The injuries_

_September 6th_

_Well it's the first day of my new school. I hope I can just act like a normal kid who's life hasn't been turned into a living HELL. But if I screw up,I'm DEAD._

Zach was the first one into the classroom. On the board it said: _Welcome to 7__th__ grade! _A red dog walked in a few seconds later. "Sup," he said. "Sup," Zach replied. "So,what's your name?" The red dog asked.

"Jack," Zach blurted out. "Jack what?" The red dog asked. "I said Zach,my name's Zach Osborne," Zach replied. "Nice to meet ya,my name's Master Milton,Milton for short," Milton said. "Oh yeah,our homeroom teacher, Mr. Johny is AWSOME.,you're gonna like him," Milton said.

Zach's first class was math. He HATED math,even though he was good at it. He looked out the window hoping some cogs would bust in and take up math class. No such luck,the school was heavily guarded. No cog could beat the guards. Next class was P.E. Zach loved P.E. Today the class was playing Basketball.

He smoked all the other toons. His Basketball skills were incredible. During free period,Zach went outside. He had an hour to do whatever he wanted. "Hey,toon, get over here." Zach whirled around to see a Two-Face. But he was odd. Zach actually saw life in his eye. Zach decided to just cream him. He threw a birthday day cake,thinking it was over. But amazingly he slapped the cake away. "What the!" Zach exclaimed. Zach drew a squirt gun from his pocket. "Try dodging THIS!" Zach said. He rapidly fired at the cog.

He missed every single shot. "No way! Zach complained. "You bore me,Osborne," the cog said. The cog ran at an incredible speed and punched Zach in the chin,then jabbed him in the stomach. Zach was down on his knees now.

"What ARE you?!" Zach yelled. "That's for me to know,and for you to find out," Two-Face replied. And with that,he took his leave.

_September 7th_

_Yesterday I encountered a very strange Two-Face. It's like he could predict my movements. He was really fast too. Great,My first day of school and I get my butt handed to me. I asked Milton about it,but he doesn't know anything. Well time for another day of being Zach Osborne._

5 toons were absent today. "Hey uh,Mr. Johny,how are we missing FIVE kids in homeroom?" Zach asked. "Their parents said that they were injured," he explained. Zach pretty much knew how they had been injured. The same way he had gotten defeated. In free period,Zach told Milton he knew what happened to them. "I don't think a cog could put someone in the hospital," Milton said. "But the cog I fought didn't use normal cog tactics, he used his bare hands," Zach explained.

"I still think a cog didn't injure them," Milton said. "Okay follow me," Zach said. They walked outside,and sure enough the Two-Face came. "Didn't learn your lesson I see," Two-Face said. Milton shot at him rapidly with a seltzer bottle.

"Cute,now try this," Two-Face said. He came up behind Milton and jabbed him in the spine. Milton fell to the ground,out cold. This gave Zach an opening. He pelted the Two-Face with a cream pie. The Two-Face was knocked against the wall. Zach put a squirt gun to his head.

"Who's the tough guy now," Zach said. "Now tell me who you are,or you will die." "Fine," the cog said. "I am not an ordinary cog," he said. "I do not rely on cog tools,I use my strength." The Two-Face looked up. "I'm tired of fighting,kill me now." Zach hesitated. But forced himself to pull the trigger. Water shot through the cogs head and he exploded.

_September 8th_

_Well I'm glad that the Two-Face surrendered. I'm getting kind of used to living in Elko. I wonder what lies ahead..._

**Next Chapter:New girl**


	4. Chapter 4:New Girl

_Chapter 4:The new girl_

_September 10th_

_Well the first week of school is just about over. And boy am I glad. I'm having to lie all the time. Even to my teachers. Anyway,Milton told me a new girl is coming into our class. _

_* * *_

"Class,listen up," Mr. Johny said. "We have a new student today." "Told ya," Milton said to Zach. Zach rolled his eyes at him. "Amy,come and introduce yourself," Mr. Johny said. A cute dark pink cat walked into the classroom. "My name is Amy Grant," she said. "Until now me and my mom lived in Daisy Gardens."

A lot of boys were admiring her looks. "Those guys are gonna be all over her," Milton said. "No kidding," Zach agreed. Mr. Johny pointed to the empty desk next to Zach. "You can sit here next to Zach Osborne," he said. Amy took her seat next to Zach. Amy turned to Zach and smiled at him. Zach went red in the face.

A couple of kids laughed.

_* * *_

"_Hey dad,what's that building over there?" Jack asked. "Oh,that's Sell bot HQ," Eric replied. "That place is where the Sell bot VP is." "Never heard of him," Jack said. "The VP is the leader of the Sell Bots, it takes a lot of toons to take him down." "Have you ever beat him before?" Jack asked. "Course I have,it takes more than a piece of garbage like the VP to beat your old man." "Maybe I can beat him one day," Jack said. Eric patted Jack's shoulder. "I know you will Jack."_

During free period, Amy went outside. She sat in the grass looking up in the sky. Her parents and former teachers said that she has her head in the clouds. "You gonna look at clouds for a whole hour?" A voice said. She turned around and saw that Zach Osborne had stood behind her.

"I like to look at the sky," Amy said. "Yeah,I used to like doing that too," Zach said. "Until my parents said that it was bad for my eyes." "Strange parents," Amy joked. "Tell me about it," Zach said. Zach started to walk off. "Uh,why are you leaving school?" Amy asked. "Forgot my homework," Zach said.

* * *

Zach was 3 minutes late to Language Arts. "A cog slowed me down," Zach lied. "Well,just take a seat Zachary," Mrs. Giles said. Mrs. Giles was the only one who called Zach by his full first name.

"Zachary?" Milton said with a chuckle. "Shut up," Zach said. Halfway through Language Arts, a kid fell out of his seat. Milton busted up laughing. "Master Milton,you have detention!" Mrs. Giles said. Milton cursed under his breath. "Okay class,I will be partnering everyone up for a research project." (Oh crap,not now) Zach thought.

"Hope I'm with you Zach," Milton said. "Same here," he replied. "Master Milton,you're with Jim Shaw." "Oh DANG,I HATE that dude," Milton whispered. "Amy Grant you're with Zachary Osborne."

A lot of boys were disappointed. Zach heard a few kids call him lucky.

* * *

Zach and Amy walked to Zach's house after school. They were researching on the Boss Bots. They worked until Amy's mom called and said it was time for Amy to go home. "See ya Zach," Amy said. "Later," Zach said. After she left, Mrs. Osborne came into the living room. "Who was that?" she asked. "Friend from school," Zach said.

* * *

"They left the hotel," the Sellbot Vice President said. "You've gotta be kidding me," Garret Martin said. "I was very clear with them the night me and my partners broke into their house." "How long have they been out?" "About a week," VP said. "WHAT?! WHY THE HECK DIDN'T YOU TELL ME EARLIER!?" Garret shouted. "They put a decoy family," VP explained. "Well find them again or you'll be demoted," Garret commanded.

_The Park_

" So you're like a really good cog buster?" Amy asked. "Yeah,one of the best," Zach said. "Well maybe we could train together sometime," Amy said. "Sure," Zach said. Zach heard cries of alarm. What he saw stunned him,cogs were breaching the park's security system. Zach ran over to where the cogs were coming from. The Senior Sellbot Vice President stood in the middle of the park. "Where is the Greene family?" VP boomed. Nobody said anything."Don't screw with me,now where are they!" VP shouted. Zach went over to Amy. "We've gotta get outta here," Zach said. "But who's gonna stop VP?" Amy asked. Her question was answered when toon ageants started blasting VP with fire hoses.

* * *

"We were not able to find them," VP said to Garret. "Keep searching, we will find them," Garret said. "And then we will kill them."


	5. Chapter 5: Domino Spence

_Chapter 5: Domino Spence_

"_It is ready," Agent Neil said. "Good,proceed," Garret Martin replied. "We must make sure the 7 heroes are gone. However if they are not dead by the end of the month, we will not be able to open Zita's Gate." Neil nodded and left the house. He took out his police radio. "Proceed, we can't let Garret get those children, they need no part of this," he said into his police radio. _

_September 11th_

Domino Spence sat in his living room watching the news. Domino is a short, multicolored cat. "In other news, The Greenes have been missing for over a week now." Jack Greene was a kid who went to Domino's school,though they did not speak to each other much.

Mrs. Spence came into the room with Domino's dinner,cheese pizza. "I wonder what happened to the Greenes," she said. "Did Jack say anything to you at school?" she asked. "Nah, not really," Domino replied.After Domino finished his dinner, he went outside. He hopped on his bike and rode to the park. He sat down on a bench. "Domino Spence," an adult toon boomed. Domino stood up. "Yeah,uh who are you?" Domino asked. "I'm Mark," he said. "I need to talk with you," Mark said. "It's about the disappearance of Jack Greene." Domino sat back down. "Okay, you've got my attention," Domino said. "An illegal weapon cartel is after his family, but there is a special reason they are trying to kill them."

"And that would be?" Domino asked. "Jack is destined to stop a monster cog known as Zita with 6 other toons," Mark replied. "There are 7 heroes, 5 boys, 2 girls," Mark explained. "Well what does that have to do with me?" Domino demanded. "Do I have to spell it out for you? You are one of the 7!" Mark shouted. Domino stood back up. "You're crazy," Domino said. "I'm just a kid." Mark was getting angry.

"You think I'm joking kid? Well I'm not. If you don't find the other six kids, we're all done for." Mark grabbed Domino's arm. "Let go!" Domino shouted. Domino broke free and slugged Mark in the eye. Mark fell to the ground, out cold. Domino grabbed his bike and sped home.

* * *

"I couldn't convince him," Mark said. "Oh this is not good, if we don't have all of them by the end of the month, Zita will break free," Neil said. "Well for now, let's focus on the next hero." Mark nodded and left. Neil picked up his police radio. "Hello, I need you to find Za-" That was all Neil had time to say before he was murdered.

* * *

Domino realized right away that something was wrong. There was a crack in one of his houses windows. He ran to the front door and swung it open. Mrs. Spence was on the ground, not breathing. Domino couldn't speak, he was too shocked. There was blood on her finger tips. Domino saw the message on the wall.

It said:

**ZITA'S GATE**


	6. Chapter 6: Cool Ace

_Chapter 6: Cool Ace_

_Garret sat at his desk going through some files. He set them aside and dialed a number on his phone. "Hello?" Mark said on the other end. "Mark, the next hero I want you to find is Jack Greene," Garret said. "I'm afraid that's not possible sir," Mark replied. "Neil was the only one who knew where they were,and now he's dead." "Very well, we will skip Jack." They hung up. Mark wasn't really working for Garret, he was just going to keep doing it until he had all 7 heroes,then double cross Garret and close Zita's Gate._

_September 13th_

Cool Ace sat in a desk at his 1st period class, science. Ace was a multicolored, medium dog, with a little over medium height. His friend, Jack Greene had been out for over a week now. Domino Spence came in and sat next to him. "Yo, Domino, find anything out about Jack?" Ace asked. Domino shook his head, Ace could tell there was something wrong with him.

Throughout the day, a lot of kids went "What's Wrong?" To Domino. Domino told them the same thing every time. "Get lost." At lunch Ace sat next to Domino. "Okay dude, seriously what the hell is the matter?" Ace demanded. Domino sighed. "Zita's Gate," Domino said. Ace could tell something terrible was going to happen.

"Last night, when I got home, my mom was dead," he said. Ace gasped. "And on the wall she wrote in blood, _Zita's Gate._" Ace wasn't sure if he was serious, or he just needed sleep. "I can show you," Domino said. "Well, who's gonna take care of you?" Ace asked. "I'll take care of myself," Domino replied. "And right before that, a man named Mark spoke with me," he continued.

"He said there are 7 heroes, 5 boys 2 girls. And I'm one of them."

* * *

Ace could barley breath, the sight of Mrs. Spence shocked him. He saw the message on the wall, _Zita's Gate._ "I don't think it's safe here anymore," Ace said. "I think Mark wasn't lying, we have to get out of town." Domino nodded. With that, Ace backed away, turned, and ran home.

* * *

Ace couldn't sleep that night. The image of Mrs. Spence kept coming back into his mind. _"Ace..." _A whisper said. Ace's eyes shot open. _"Listen to me Ace, you gotta go to Elko, go there and find Jack. Zita's Gate is set to open October 1__st__. Get to Elko before then." _

* * *

Zach felt like someone was calling him, but not by Zach, but his real name. "_Zita's Gate..."_ A soft whisper said. Zach sat up in bed. _"Please, find the other 6 before it's too late..." _Then he saw a vision of 6 other toons, 4 boys, 2 girls beckoning to him. _"Help us Jack, you have to stop being Zach Osborne, help us..." _Then the 6 faded and Zach fell into a restless sleep.


	7. Chapter 7: Lily Sparklesmirk

_Chapter 7: Lily Sparklesmirk_

_The Senior Sell bot Vice President was just waking up when the phone rang. "Hello?" VP said. "VP, it's Garret. Remember the Two-Face, A-102 you sent to find Jack?" _

"_Yeah," VP said. "It was destroyed," Garret said. VP cursed. "Oh well, B-102 is almost complete." _

"_And I know who beat him," Garret said. "A kid named Zach Osborne." _

_* * *_

The Mr. Hollywood was waking up for the first time. "You are complete," VP said. "You are the second of my 102 cog series. You have power that no other cogs have, B-102." B-102 got to his feet. "So what am I supposed to do?" B-102 asked. "Follow my commands no matter what," VP replied. B-102 nodded. "You're first mission, find Lily Sparklesmirk," VP said.

* * *

Lily sat in her moms car. Lily was a dark pink cat, medium, and tall legs. "Mom, why can't I just walk to school?" she asked. "You know what happened to that agent," Mrs. Sparklesmirk said. "And I'm not taking any chances." Lily rolled her eyes. "Whatever," she said. They arrived and Lily got out. When she went into the class room, Jack's seat was still empty.

"Miss Grubbs?" She asked. "Where's Jack?" Miss Grubbs just shook her head as if to say _Don't worry about it._ Her best friend, Little Kippy walked into the room. Kippy was a short, dark brown cat. She looked small and weak, but the last dude who tried to tease her got a black eye. They heard Domino Spence and Cool Ace whispering about some Two- Face.

"Two dogs beat him, Zach Osborne and Master Milton," Ace said. Lily wondered if Jack changed his name for some reason, impossible.

* * *

B-102 stood outside Toontown Middle school. "I think I heard something over here!" A guard shouted. Two dogs came up in front of him. "And what the hell do you think you're doing?" one of them asked. B-102 grinned and grabbed them both by their shirts. He rose them high and slammed them to the brick wall, knocking them out. The bell rang, class was starting.

* * *

Lily, Ace, Domino, and Kippy sat in study hall trying to think of something to do. They didn't have homework or books. Lily thought she saw something outside. She tapped Kippy on the shoulder. "I think I saw something outside," she said. "I'm gonna check it out." She raised her hand, Miss Grubbs called on her. "Can I uh go to the bathroom?" she asked. Miss Grubbs said yes and Lily bolted out of room and outside. A Mr. Hollywood sat in a lawn chair reading a book. "It's about time," he said. Helicopters shot out of his back and he rushed Lily. She jumped up and bounced off of Hollywood's head. He turned around. "Impressive," he said. "But still not good enough!" He sped forward and grabbed Lily by the head. Lily struggled to break free, but Hollywood wasn't letting go. He took out his golf club and rose it over Lily's head. "Say good night," he said. Lily grabbed the club just in time. Hollywood tugged hard, and Lily let go. The cog went tumbling down, releasing Lily. Lily grabbed the club and swung, taking off Hollywood's right arm. With his remaining strength, he punched Lily in the head and knocked her out.

* * *

"What happened to you?" VP asked B-102. "That cat's got skills," he replied. "Well of course, she is one of the seven, they're all almost impossible to beat," VP said. Two hours later, B-102's arm was repaired. C and D-102 were complete. "I grow tired of failures," VP said. "I want success this time, or else." The three cogs saluted and flew off.

*** * ***

"What happened to you?" Ace asked. "A Hollywood attacked me," Lily replied. Domino didn't seem to hear anything. He looked like he was in some kind of trance. Then Lily heard a whisper _"Zita's Gate..."_


	8. Chapter 8: Little Kippy

_Chapter 8: Little Kippy_

_FRONT PAGE NEWS_

_Agent Neil Grant was mysteriously killed a few nights ago. He was found dead in his office with a gear in his head. It is suspected that he was killed by a cog, but authorities are not certain yet. The death of Neil is a great loss to the force and Toontown all over._

_* * *_

_September 15th_

Little Kippy was never one of the taller toons in the 7th grade, but she was always one of the most aggressive. She was stronger than about half the guys in the school. Her house was just a block away from where she went to school. As she walked onto the campus, she saw a large cog arm lying in the grass. She also noticed a lawn chair and a book sitting in it. When she walked into homeroom, she saw a bunch of kids clustered around Lily Sparklesmirk.

"So He only used his bare hands to fight you?" Ace asked

"Yeah, well he tried to club me with his driver, but that was pretty much it," Lily replied.

"There's no doubt about it," Ace said. "It's just like the cog Zach Osborne and Master Milton defeated."

Kippy had heard that some dogs in Elko had beaten a weird cog, but she never expected one to come all the way to Toontown Central.

"OK class," Miss Grubbs said. "The bell is about to ring, so everybody needs to take their seats."

Kippy took her seat between Ace and Lily.

"Now I want to talk to you all about something," Miss Grubbs said. "Lately there have been many bad things happening. An agent was recently murdered and two young boys were almost kidnapped by a very strange cog. I just want you all to be very careful when you are not indoors, we do not need any kids being murdered by the cogs."

* * *

B-102 flew into Sellbot HQ, where the VP was waiting for him.

"Status," VP said.

"It seems that people have become aware of our actions," B-102 said. "They have started to place more heavily armed guards around schools, gyms, shops, and all other public places."

"Hmm, do they know of our purpose yet?"

"Not yet sir, but knowing those nosy officials, they'll probably start investigating us."

VP took out a phone and dialed a number. "Hello Foreman," he said. "I need you to speed up production on my 102 cogs, we will need more to help B, C, and D-102 complete the task of finding the seven toons."

"Yes sir, right away sir," Foreman said on the other end.

VP hung up. "Once E and F-102 are complete, I will need you all to go back to Toontown Middle school and find the four toons we have been searching for."

"Yes sir," B-102 said. "Have you found out where the other three are?"

"Not yet," VP said. "We are still searching for Jack Greene, but it seems we do not have a lead yet. As for the other two, we have not began searching for them yet, but we must start soon."

* * *

Kippy walked into the cafeteria with a tray that had a burger, some fries, a bag of chips, and some milk. She sat down where Ace, Domino, and Lily were. Domino was looking down and he hadn't touched his food.

"OK, what's with him all of a sudden?" Kippy asked.

"Just skip it," Ace said. "He's having a hard time right now."

"Zita's Gate…" Domino whispered softly.

"He's still on that?" Lily asked

"Yeah," Ace replied. "That's pretty much the only thing he'll say nowadays."

* * *

Kippy checked the mail when she got home. There was only a white envelope addressed to her in there. She ripped the envelope open and read the letter.

_Kippy,_

_I don't want to scare you, but on the day of September 17__th__, the cogs that attacked Neil Grant will be coming back to your school to kidnap you, Cool Ace, Domino Spence, and Lily Sparklesmirk. You must warn your friends before them, do whatever you have to, but whatever you do, don't go to school on that day. This is a matter of life and death. Godspeed my friend._

_,Mark_

* * *

Zach was in the living room with his sister, Lily and his mom, Terry. The reporter was rambling on about some guy named Neil Grant.

Where have I heard the name Grant before? Zach thought. He then remembered something. Neil Grant was the same guy that had helped his family in the first place. His mom and sister didn't seem to remember him.

The phone rang and Zach got up to get it.

"Hello?" he said.

"Hey Zach," Milton said on the other end. "You wanna come play a little 3-on-3 with me and some of the guys from school at the rec center?"

"Sure," Zach said. "I'll be there in about fifteen minutes."

Zach hung up the phone and went into his room. He changed into a T-shirt, a pair of gym shorts, and his high top basketball shoes. He headed out the door and headed for the rec center.

* * *

Amy sat on her bed with tears in her eyes. She had always worried that something would happen to him, but she didn't expect it to happen so suddenly. What were they going to do now that Neil was dead? Her mom might have to get another job, and maybe even take double shifts. Mrs. Grant went into Amy's room and sat down next to her.

"Everything is going to be alright," Mrs. Grant said. "I just know it."

* * *

Zach walked into the Elko rec center. Milton was with two other guys from their school shooting around on the far basket. The other two were Harvey, a light blue duck and Scotty, a tall periwinkle dog.

"Hey man," Milton said. "Glad you could make it."

"Where's the other guys?" Zach asked.

"I dunno," Scotty said. "Mike and Jamie are always late." Mike and Jamie were both cats, Mike was red and Jamie was green. Scotty shot the ball from the free throw line. The arc was off and it bounced off the rim. Zach got the rebound and went to the very left outside the key. He shot and it went in nothing but net.

"Nice shot," Milton said. "What position do you play?

"Forward," Zach said.

Mike and Jamie walked in at that moment.

"Sorry we're late," Mike said.

"No prob," Harvey said. "We're used to it."

"Very funny," Jamie said.

"C'mon enough talk," Zach cut in. "Lets play."

* * *

"You're crazy," Ace said. "They don't have a reason to attack a school, besides ours is too heavily guarded for cogs to get in."

Ace and Kippy were at the Toontown Central Café. Kippy had asked Ace, Domino, and Lily to meet her there. Ace had been the first to show.

"I'm not crazy Ace," Kippy snapped. "I got a letter that said the cogs are planning an attack on our school on the 17th."

Ace looked doubtful. "Show me the letter," he said.

Kippy took the letter out and handed it to him. Ace read it, then looked up.

"It's probably some dumb prank," he said. "And besides, why would they want to kidnap us, we're just kids."

Lily and Domino ran in at that moment, gasping for breath.

"The HQ!" Lily shouted.

"It's under attack!" Domino shouted. The four of them ran out of the café and headed towards the Toontown Central HQ.


	9. Chapter 9: The Flaw

_Chapter 9: The Flaw_

The sight of the HQ was horrible. There were a ton of holes in the walls, all of the technology was destroyed, and there were out cold HQ officers all over the place. Ace turned his attention to the Mr. Hollywood in the middle of the HQ, holding two officers by their shirts.

"Ah, so you have come," he said. He threw the officers to the wall and walked towards the four friends.

"You did this to lure us out?" Ace asked

"Of course," the cog replied. "It is my job to make sure you are all brought to Garret Martin and the VP."

"Are you the one that killed my mom!?" Domino demanded.

"I believe that was A-102's handiwork," Hollywood replied. "He was the prototype for the 102 series, but it seems that he was flawed. I am the second. I am B-102, and I assure you that I have no flaws. I can take all four of you down without trying."

Ace immediately realized that A-102 must have been the Two-Face that Master Milton and Zach Osborne beat. He looked over at Domino. Ace saw fire in his eyes.

"What is Zita's Gate?!" Domino shouted.

B-102 looked shocked. "How the hell do you know about that? That information is top secret."

"My mom wrote it on the wall just before she died," Domino shouted.

"Then I guess you know of our plans," B-102 said. "That means you will not be showing your face here again." He flew towards Domino. Ace took out a seltzer bottle, but B-102 was too quick. The cog grabbed the bottle with his left arm and lashed out with his right arm. Ace flew out one of the holes in the wall and hit a tree outside, knocking him out.

Kippy punched B-102 in the back which caused the cog to stumble forward. He grabbed a chalk board and flung it at Kippy. It was too quick for her to react. It knocked her into a wall, and she was also knocked out. Domino was on the left side of him, Lily on the right. They rapidly nailed him with seltzer bottle shots.

"Ahhh!" B-102 cried out. Helicopters shot out of his back and he flew towards the ceiling. He was still being hit. He broke a part of the ceiling, and debris fell on top of Lily. Domino was out of water. B-102 was back on the floor.

"That just leaves you," B-102 said.

"I will kill you!" Domino shouted in rage. He took out a birthday cake and threw it. B-102 caught it and tossed it aside. Before Domino could get something else out, B-102 nailed Domino in the head, knocking out the last of the four.

He picked up Domino and headed towards Lily. A birthday cake hit him in the head, severely wounding him. Ace had woken up and thrown it.

"P-put him down," Ace said shakily. He knew he wouldn't be able to stay awake for much longer. Ace hit him with two more and went out cold again. B-102 was damaged very badly.

"I don't have time to get the other three, I gotta get repairs, and fast," B-102 said. He flew off with Domino and headed towards Sellbot HQ. Ace could only watch as his friend was carried off. "No," Ace moaned. "No!"

* * *

_B-102's log:_

_Entry 1_

He said I was built only to follow his commands, but is what I'm doing right? I know cogs are not supposed to question what they do, but what if I'm different? I was built almost the same as standard type cogs, but with a different power source. It was a badge, but the VP said it was filled with dark energy which was supposed to make me the perfect cog. I have heard of emotions, but the VP said the only emotion I can feel is darkness and hatred towards fun things. But what if I could change? What if the darkness inside the badge can be mutated to feel what living things feel? I didn't think I had any flaws, but it seems that the darkness is starting to change. I still feel it, but I'm starting to have regrets.

* * *

_September 16__th_

_OK, I thought strange things were only happening here in Elko, but it looks like it's just as bad in Toontown Central. I heard that four of my former classmates got beat down by a weird Mr. Hollywood. It sounds like one of the same cogs as the Two-Face that attacked Milton and I. It looks like I need to be more careful when I'm out on the streets. I might run into one of those beastly cogs again._

_* * *_

Zach walked into homeroom. Milton and Amy were already there. Amy was at her desk with her head down.

"Hey man," Milton greeted him.

"Sup Milton," Zach replied. "Did you hear about that slam fest that went on at the Toontown Central HQ?"

"Yeah," Milton replied/ "I heard that Domino guy got kidnapped by the Mr. Hollywood."

He got Domino? Zach thought. Domino had been one of his friends from when he was Jack Greene.

"What were the names of the other toons?" Zach asked.

"Uh, Little Kippy, Cool Ace, and Lily Sparklesmirk," Milton replied. Those were three more of Zach's good friends from Toontown Central.

"Hey, what's with her?" Zach whispered looking at Amy.

"Dude, her dad was killed, didn't you hear about that Neil Grant guy?" Milton replied. Zach then remembered that Amy's last name was Grant. How could I not catch that?! Zach thought to himself. Man I'm an idiot sometimes. Zach went over to Amy's desk. He tried to figure out something to say to her that wouldn't set her off.

"Amy?" Zach said.

Amy looked up at him. "Oh hi Zach," she said trying to sound cheerful. Zach could tell she hadn't gotten much sleep the night before and that she had been crying.

"Listen, I wanted to talk to you about something, but I don't think it's a good time right now. Would you meet me at the café after school?" Zach asked.

"OK, sure I'd love to," Amy said. She smiled at him. Zach couldn't help but return the smile.

* * *

During free period, Milton left campus. Since the town was so small, toons were allowed to leave school during free period. He started making his way to the café to grab a snack. While he was walking, he thought he heard some voices behind the huge bushes. He walked over to them. His ears were right, he could hear some cogs talking beyond them. Milton crouched down and looked through the bushes. A Mr. Hollywood was giving orders to a Mingler, a Two-Face, and a Name Dropper. They were standing near a sewer lid. The three weaker cogs saluted and Hollywood opened the lid. They all jumped down into where ever the hole led to. Milton could tell that those cogs were standard type cogs, not like the one that had attacked the Toontown Central HQ.

Milton waited about two minutes, then went and opened the lid. He saw a secret cog HQ. It was filled with not just sellbots, but cogs of all kind. A Robber Baron looked up and was about to say something, but Milton nailed him with a birth day cake, killing him. He put the lid back.

"Oh man," he said. "Wait until I tell the guys about this one!" And with that, he ran back towards school.

* * *

"Is he awake yet?" Garret Martin asked VP over the phone.

"Not yet sir," VP replied. "B-102 must have hit him pretty hard."

And what about the other three?" The tall red mouse asked.

"I'm afraid he did not have time," VP said. "Just as he was gathering the other three, that pest Cool Ace severely damaged him, but don't worry, our 102 cogs will be going back tomorrow. It's just a matter of time Garret. Zita will once again rule this pathetic place."

Garret nodded. "Just make sure Spence does not escape. Have C and D-102 guard him."

"Yes sir," VP said. They hung up. "Zita," he said. "You will be here soon enough."


	10. Chapter 10: The Discovery

Chapter 10: The Discovery

B-102's Log- Entry 2

I was sitting at my desk, going through paper work when suddenly I felt somebody tap me on the shoulder.

"Hey," C-102 said. "Your turn to guard the cat."

I nodded and got up from my desk. I went into the Sellbot HQ custody center where the cat was. I was just supposed to stand in front of his cell for the next two hours. It didn't really make a lot of sense to me. It's not like anybody could ever escape, but VP said that we couldn't be too sure. I heard a groan coming from the kid's cell. I turned around to see him in a sitting position.

"So you have awaken," I said. He just glared at me. I could clearly see he wanted to strangle me.

"Where am I?" He demanded.

"Sellbot HQ," I replied. "The Chairman will be here to question you soon. I suggest you cooperate if you know what's good for you."

"You don't scare me," the kid replied.

"Oh really? You must have forgotten what A-102 did to your mother," I replied smugly.

The kid was angry now. "When I get out of here, I'm gonna kill you," he threatened.

"We'll see," I said. I took out my phone and started to dial Garret's number.

* * *

There were five minutes left in free period when Milton ran into home room. He ran up to Jamie, out of breath.

"Where's Zach?" Milton asked.

"He went home to get something," Jamie replied. "Again."

Milton decided to tell Jamie about what he had found while walking to the café.

"Dude, are you serious?" Jamie said awestruck. "How did the police miss something like that?"

Milton shrugged. "I guess they never thought a Cog HQ would be under the town."

"So are we going down there?" Jamie asked.

Milton grinned. "You know it."

* * *

"He's waking up. Ace? Can you hear me?"

Ace sat up in his bed. He was in his room with his parents standing over him. "Ouch, my head. How long have I been asleep?" Ace asked.

"About a day," his father said. "But Ace, what the heck were you thinking trying to destroy that beast of a cog?"

"I didn't think it was going to be one of the ones that attacked Zach and Milton."

"Well you need to be more careful. That cog could have killed you."

"I doubt he wants to kill us Dad," Ace said. "Cogs usually just kidnap people."

"But what about Neil Grant?"

"That was one time, and that cog is history anyway."

Ace's father shook his head. "Well we're just glad you're not hurt. Now you need to get some rest."

Ace started to lay back down, but then remembered something. "What happened to the others?!" He shouted.

His parents looked at each other.

"Lily's in the hospital," his dad said. "Kippy's injuries weren't major. She's at school right now. As for Domino, well no one has seen him since yesterday."

Ace looked down. "I know what happened to him." Ace told his parents about how B-102 was there to capture the four of them. He told them that he had tried to save Domino, but he wasn't fast enough.

"That doesn't make any sense," his mother said. "You kids are barely thirteen."

Ace shrugged. "Tell that to the bulk brains who thought of it."

"B-102 huh?" His dad said. "That doesn't sound too good."

"He said he was there to take us to Garret Martin," Ace said.

His father suddenly turned pale. "Get some rest son," he said suddenly. His mother and father walked out of his room, and Ace fell into a deep sleep.

* * *

Cool Clyde hadn't heard the name Garret Martin since college. Clyde was a tall, 34 year old orange dog. Martin had been a master in mechanics and all things related to machinery. He was known to be a little crazy. The last semester of their fourth college year, he just vanished and hasn't turned up anywhere- until this day.

* * *

Zach was late to language arts once again.

"Now Zachary this is the second time you were late," Miss Giles scolded. "What held you up this time?"

Zach shrugged. "Nothing, I guess I was just a little slow."

Miss Giles shook her head. "Take a seat Zachary, and if this happens again, we're going to have a problem."

Zach walked to his seat next to Milton. He expected him to open his mouth with another one of his smart remarks, but Milton just sat there with a weird look in his eyes.

* * *

Zach walked over to his usual lunch area with Milton, Jamie, Mike, Scotty, and Harvey.

"Dude, wait til you hear this," Milton said. He told Zach what he had told Jamie earlier.

Zach was thinking that maybe the Greenes had finally been found out, that somebody had told the cogs they were now the Osbornes. Not likely, Zach thought. They would have already come for me already.

"You alright Zach?" Mike asked. "You look kinda sick."

Zach shook his head in respone. "I'm fine, but what are we going to do about the secret Cog HQ?"

"What do you think?" Milton asked. "We're gonna go in there, gags ablazing until all those stupid metal heads are blown to pieces."

"Hold on," Scotty said. "What if we run into the Chairman? He's probably a hell of a lot worse than those cogs we heard about in the news."

Milton thought through this. "Yeah, you're right, we might need the police to help us. I'll file a report with the Elko police department when I get home today."

"Sounds good," Zach said. "Hey, are you gonna eat those fries Harvey?"

* * *

"He is here," B-102 said to Domino. "Like I said, cooperate if you know what's good for you."

Domino saw a tall red mouse in a black suit walk towards the cell with 102 cogs on either sides of him.

"Well, it looks like we finally have one of the seven mighty heroes. Not so tough now are you Domino Spence?" The mouse scoffed.

"Who are you man?" Domno asked.

The mouse grinned. "You're going to find this hard to believe, but I am the Chairman."

Domino was stunned. This guy was a total traitor. Even worse, he was leading the cog nation.

"But why?" Domino demanded. "Why turn your back on your own kind?!"

The Chairman chuckled. "I thought you would never ask. You may think I am a fool for leading the cogs, but you will learn soon enough." He was now giving Domino a deadly serious look. "I turn my back on Toontown because their society is weak. Trolley games, parties, Goofy's speedway, it's all freaking worthless. They spend government funding on too many fun and colorful things. They need to focus on more important things."

"But what about schools?" Domino asked.

"Well, that is the only good thing Flippy ever did for Toontown. That is why we need a new ruler. That is why we need Zita to come forth and rule once again."

"Zita... who is he?"

"Zita was the first cog ever created. He could easily take out the four bosses without trying. He was built thousands of years ago."

Domino gasped. "How? Technology wasn't that far advanced."

"I know," The Chairman said. "He was created from a rocky material and was brought to life by an ancient ritual."

"What happened to him?"

"The toons did not like the way he was ruling, so they created a gate and sent him to a dark dimension where he lay rest for thousands of years." He looked at Domino with an evil gleam in his eye. "But in less than half a month, Zita's Gate will be opened, and Toontown will see its final days."

Domino was actualy scared now, this was something he never expected the cogs to do, but all it took was one crazy traitor.

"I will leave now," The Chairman said. "Rest while you have the chance, for on October 1st, you will also see your final day."

* * *

"Hey, what do you have going on tonight?" Milton asked Zach as they were heading towards the double doors leading out of Elko Middle School.

"Well first I'm gonna go meet Amy at the cafe, but I'm pretty much free after that," Zach replied.

"Cool," Milton said. "I'll give you a call later if we decide to go and do something later."

"Alright."

They went their seperate ways. Zach started making his way towards the cafe.

* * *

There was a purple adult dog outsidethe police department a little taller than Milton. The dog motioned for Milton to come towards him. Despite Milton not knowing who he was, he walked over anyway.

"Hello, my name is Mark," he said. "I have a question to ask you."

"Alright," Milton said. "Go ahead."

"We have been looking for a young blue dog named Jack Greene. His family disappeared and we are searching for them."

"What does he look like?"

"Well he's a blue dog, and he's about your age and height."

Milton shrugged. "Doesn't ring a bell."

"Okay," Mark said. "But if you find anything out give me call," Mark gave Milton a card with his phone number and e-mail on it.

Mark left and Milton went into the police station. Milton had a feeling he knew where Jack was, but he couldn't endanger him, so he said nothing.

_"So what's your name?"_

_"Jack."_

_"Jack what?"_

_"I said Zach, my name's Zach Osborne."_

It made sense now. Zach suddenly coming to Elko, the Greenes going missing. Milton knew now that Zach wasn't who he said he was and that he was probably in more danger than he knew.


	11. Chapter 11: How It Began

_Chapter 11: How it began_

Zach walked into to the cafe. Amy was not there yet so he bought two cokes and found an empty table with two chairs across from one another. He saw an adult pig reading a newspaper. The front page news was about the kidnapping of Domino Spence and the attack on the TTC HQ. At that moment, Amy walked into the building and spotted Zach. She went over to the table he was sitting at and sat down across from him. She took a sip of her coke and looked him in the eye.

"So," she started. "What did you want to talk to me about?"

"All of this," Zach said. "Everything that has happened." He took a deep breath and continued. "I wish I could say that I understand how you feel, but I don't. You didn't deserve what happened to you. Neil Grant didn't deserve it. I think I know who killed your father though."

"Really?" Amy asked hopefully.

Zach nodded. "Before you came to our school, a weird Two-Face attacked Milton and I. He used his bare hands to fight, and he was very powerful. We killed him but I guess they must have made another one, and that one may have killed your father."

"How do you know?"

Zach took a piece of paper from his pocket and unfolded it. "I printed this out from a website that secretely leaks the cogs secret information."

The paper had blueprints with a Mr. Hollywood design on it. Uptop it read: _B-102. _

"As you see, this cog's design is very different from others," Zach said. "The materials are sturdier and stronger than standard cog material. This is what gives them strength. Their speed is given by the suprising lightness of the stronger materials."

"So you think one of these things killed my father?"

Zach nodded. "If the police look closely at the material on the gear found in Neil's head, then they should be able to idenify the material of the cog. They will be able to tell if it is the standard or strong material."

"And how is this supposed to help me?"

"This will help authorities find Neil's killer. This will help the police serve justice to your father's killer."

Amy smiled at him. "Thank you Zach, this the nicest thing someone has ever done for me."

"It's the least I could do for you while you're going throught this hard time."

Amy looked at her watch. "I'd better go, I have softball practice and I can't be late." She got up from the table and went over to Zach. She hugged him and went out the door with her coke.

If only I could tell you the truth, Jack Greene thought. If only I could tell you who I really was. He got up and headed towards his house.

_12 years earlier....._

22 year old Garret Martin was walking home from Toontown Central University. It was a bright and sunny Friday afternoon. This day had been the last day of his first semester. He was in his fourth year of college and would be done after the next semester. He saw some young toons hopping on the trolley. Garret shook his head in disgust. He thought the way things were being run in Toontown was a disgrace. Flippy was all about play now, work later. The only good thing about the society to him was that there were schools, but that wasn't much.

He saw two blue dogs. One a man, one a woman. The woman was pushing a stroller with a baby in it. He recognized them, they were Eric and Ana Greene. They were with their one year old son, Jack. He saw a young girl about five years older than Jack holding Eric's hand. That was their daughter Layla. Eric and Ana were about six or seven years older than Garret and were pretty popular among the other residents of Toontown Central.

"Hey Garret!" He heard somebody call. He turned around to see one of his class mates, Cool Clyde running towards him. "Hey, you wanna come grab a bite to eat with me and some of the other guys?" he offered.

"No thanks," Garret said. "I have an appointment today and I can't be late."

"Alright, no problem," Clyde replied. He heartily gave Garret a playful slap on the back and headed to the O'Bannon's restruant. The O'Bannons were a couple that had opened a restruant that served all kinds of good food. From mexican food to hamburgers, they had it all. On top of that, they were still in college. They had a one year old son, a green dog who they said was the best thing they had ever seen. His name was Alex O'Bannon. Garret started to notice something, a bunch of his classmates were already starting families and he was still alone. He dismissed this thought and headed home.

_Later that night...._

Garret heard something walking outside of his room. He turned on his lamp and looked out his bed room window. He saw the shadow of a creature he could not describe. He rummaged through his closet until he found his old baseball bat. He crept quietly to the back door and looked out the window. There was surley something there. He turned on the backyard light and ran outside.

"Who are you?" Garret shouted.

The creature stepped out of the shadows. Garret was looking at some sort of mechanical being.

"I am a Mr. Hollywood," it said. "I am what is known as a cog."

Garret looked at him with a look of amazement on his face. "Why are you here?"

"You are Garret Martin, correct?"

"Yeah."

It smiled. "I have an offer to make. Will you come with me?"

* * *

The Mr. Hollywood led him into a large house that resembled a factory in a few ways. They walked towards about fifty more cogs standing in front of a large machine with a conveyer belt.

"What is this place?" Garret asked.

"This is the abonded house of Gyro Gearloose. This is where we were created."

"Who is that?" Garret asked pointing to a white duck who had duck dape over his mouth and was tied up.

"Oh, that is the pathetic Scrooge McDuck. He made the mistake of activating me and he paid dearly for it."

"Okay, but why did you bring me here?"

Mr. Hollywood pointed to the machine. "Our cog maker is broken, so we would like you to fix it."

"What's in it for me?"

"We have heard about your hatred towards society, and we feel the same way. Our plan is to rid this place of all fun and useless things."

Garret was pleased."So what are you trying to offer me?"

"You will run this organization, you will be the Chairman. We know of your mechanical skills and it would benefit us to have you as our leader."

"Alright, I'll see what I can do."

Garret went inside the machine and found that two belts had been disconnected. He reconnected them and pulled the lever outside of the machine. It roared to life and started spitting out cogs.

Mr. Hollywood smiled. "Welcome to the organization, Chairman."

Shortly after, The Chairman ordered all troops to go into Toontown, it was time for the ultimate war to begin.

* * *

Garret Martin still remembered that day so clearly, it had been the day he had found meaning in his boring life. The Mr. Hollywood he had met, the first, well second cog ever created had been promoted to become the VP of the Cog Nation. It was Garret's mechanical genius that had given the cogs everything they needed. He got up from his leather office chair and took out his phone. He dialed Mark Browning's number.

"Hello?" Mark said on the other end.

"Mark, how is the search for Jack going?"

"It seems that nobody in Elko has seen him."

Garret was angry now. "How in the world have they been able to avoid us this god damn long?!" Garret shouted. "There's only one explanation for this."

"What would that be?"

"The Greenes must have changed their names, it's the only explanation. That is why they have been avoiding us so long."

"What are you going to do?"

"Tell F-102 to meet me at the Sellbot HQ helicopter. We're taking a little trip to Elko. Tell him to also bring the kid. All other 102 cogs are to stay here and go to Toontown Central Middle School tomorrow to capture the three remaining heroes there."

"Yes sir."

Mark hung up. He had to get to Jack before Garret got to Elko. He knew what he had to do. He went to the house that the Grants lived in. He knocked on the door. It looked like nobody was home, but suprisingly the door was unlocked. He went into the house and found Neil's old office. He started goig through Neil's old files and finally found what he was looking for. He had finally found out where Jack was, and he was in the same town as Mark, or he had been on the date of September 5th. Mark left the house and started his search for Jack Greene.

* * *

Zach watched as the purple dog left Amy's house. He was carrying a good bit of papers but one had dropped without him noticing. Zach waited until he had left the neighborhood, then he picked the loose paper up off of the ground. He gasped. It had his family's names on it. It read: _Jack Greene-Zach Osborne, Layla Greene-Lily Osborne, Ana Greene-Terry Osborne._ This was not good at all, it looked like the Osbornes had finally been found out. After almost just two weeks, this happens. He would have to say goodbye to his new friends and start over again. He had to somehow find a way to keep that dog's mouth shut or he was in a lot of trouble. Zach decided he would just deal with it on Saturday, so he went home and tried to take his mind off of it by watching some TV.

* * *

"This is the place," Milton said to the three officers standing before him. Milton lifted the lid open and revealed the secret Cog HQ.

One of the officers, Good Buddy, who was an orange mouse smiled. "Good work kid. We never would have thought to search here." He took out his walkie-talkie. "Secret HQ found," he spoke into it. "Send backup, and I mean a lot of back up." He looked at his two partners. "Stay here, I'm going to take a closer look." He jumped into the hole and started blasting any cogs that got in his way.

* * *

When Garret got to the helicopter, Domino and F-102 were already there waiting for him. F-102 had a tight grip an Domino's arm, which kept him from making a run for it.

"Once we get there, we will find a place to stay and start searching for Jack in the morning," Garret said. He looked at Domino. "And if you try to escape, I will kill you." What a fine mess Garret was in. If he and his partners had just taken Jack the night of the break in, then he would not have to go all the way to Elko, but it didn't matter because Zita's Gate was right beneath the town of Elko, so maybe it was all for the best.

"Sir, what happens if we do not have them all by October 1st?" F-102 asked.

"It doesn't matter," Garret said. "We only need three of them to open the gate, but the more we have, the less resistance we have to put up with."

They boarded the helicopter and set the course for Elko. Soon, Garret thought. Zita will be free to rule this place and I will be his second in command

_September 17th_

_Man I am so stressed out right now. I can't believe Neil left our files in his house. I haven't seen anything strange lately, so I'm not worried. I haven't told Mom or Lily about,but I'll tell them if I feel like I'm being watched. There is still no sign of Domino, I'm worried about him. I hope the little dude is alright._

_* * *_

Zach walked into home room feeling a little better than the day before, but all that changed when he was called to the office. He went into the office where Principal Bonkers was waiting for him.

"Zach, there is a man outside who would like to speak to you," he said.

Zach went outside and felt his heart sink as he saw who it was. It was the purple dog from the day before.

He looked around to make sure that they were alone, then trained his eyes on Zach.

"Hello Jack," he said. "We need to talk."


	12. Chapter 12: The Hunt Begins

_Chapter 12: The Hunt Begins_

Zach started backing away. "Who are you?"

"Don't worry," the man said. "I have come to warn you."

"About what?"

"The Chairman is here in Elko and he is searching for you, it's not safe for you or your family any more."

Zach wasn't totally convinced. "Why should I trust you?"

The dog took out a badge that said _Mark Browning, Toontown secret agent._ "We must leave this school at once."

"Well I can't just skip class."

"Make up an excuse," Mark said. "Tell them I'm your uncle or something."

"Where are we gonna go?"

"Somewhere The Chairman would never think to look. On October 2nd, it will be over and hopefuly the cogs will have failed."

Zach was worried now. "What happens in October?"

"Just go get your things, I'll explain once you're safe."

Zach walked back into the school. He told the principal that his uncle was taking him to his doctors appointment. He went to his locker and took out the things he needed and went back out front. Mark walked him to his van and Zach got into the passenger seat while Mark was in the drivers seat.

* * *

On the way, Mark picked up Terry and Lily, telling them the same thing he had told Zach. He pulled up to a hotel complex and they walked in. Mark checked all four of them in and they went upstairs. Zach and Mark had a room, and Terry and Lily had a room. They each had two queen sized beds. Once they were settled in, Mark started telling Zach why The Chairman was after him.

"Well Jack-"

"It's Zach," Zach cut in.

"Okay _Zach_," Mark started. "You are not normal. In fact you are not even close to being normal. You are a Daybreaker."

Zach was confused now. "What in the world is that?"

"The Daybreakers, there are seven of them, five boys, two girls. You have come in contact with at least four of them."

"Who?"

"Cool Ae, Domino Spence, Little Kippy, and Lily Sparklesmirk."

This explained why the Mr. Hollywood had captured Domino.

"Well why do they need us?" Zach asked.

"Have you heard of Zita's Gate?" Mark asked.

Zach started to say no, but then he remembered the dream he had. "Yes.." Zach said.

"Well, I am going to tell you what it is and how it came to be."

* * *

Thousands of years ago, the early toon civilazation wanted a strong and fearless leader. They spent many months building a large statue of a great and powerful futuristic being. When they were done, they performed an ancient ritual to bring it to life. This being came to be known as Zita, the first cog ever created.

At first, the toons liked and respected him, but then things started to change. Zita started dictating everything the toons did. He made them do hard and boring jobs, and he took away everything that was fun or colorful in any sort of way. This angered the toons, so they devised a plan to get rid of him. They could not kill him, as his dark power made him invincible, but they could send him away forever. In secret, they worked for many months in a large chamber carving many different symbols into the ground. Once they were finished, they led Zita to the chamber and trapped him. They performed a ritual which was created to send Zita to a dimension of darkness where he would stay for all eternity. Some were worried that he would one day return to exact his revenge on the world for banishing him, so they created a prophecy. In the far future, there would be seven toons, the Daybreakers who had power that no other being could have.

And if somebody ever tried to open Zita's Gate, then the Daybreakers would use their power to fight him. They never knew somebody would betray the toons and try to open it, but that was exactly what was happening at this point in time.

* * *

Zach felt like he might be sick. "H-how am I supposed to fight him, I'm just a kid!"

Mark looked at him reassuringly. "Patience Zach, you have yet to find your powers, but when the time comes you will understand."

"Okay, but who are the other two Daybreakers?"

Mark just shrugged. "We have yet to start searching for them, but they are both male dogs, one green, one red. The red one is about your height and he has black eyes.

Zach suddenly knew who he was talking about. "Milton."

"Who?"

"Milton! He goes to my school, he's a red dog, he's my height, and he has black eyes!"

"Oh man," Mark muttered. "We can't go back for him now, they will be suspicious if I pick him up too."

"What do we do?"

"Wait until after school, then we'll go by his house and pick him up."

"What are we supposed to do right now?" Zach asked

Mark shrugged. "Watch TV or sleep I guess."

* * *

Ace woke up in his room. It was still dark out. His alarm clock read 7:15 AM. He wondered if Kippy had gone to school. This was the day that cogs were supposedly going to attack their school. He picked up a phone on his bedside table. He dialed Kippy's number. It rang three times before it was answered.

"Hello?" Kippy said sleepily.

"Kippy, thank God you're still at home!"

"Yeah," Kippy said. "I convinced my parents that I was sick, so those cogs will be pretty upset when none of us are at school."

Yeah," Ace said. "Kippy, I'm worried about Domino."

"So am I, but there isn't anything we can do right now."

"But there's gotta be, people rescue kidnapped toons all the time," Ace said.

"It's different for us Ace," Kippy said. "We're just a couple of kids."

"I don't give a damn," Ace said. "Once I'm better, I'm gonna find a way to help hm."

* * *

_B-102's Log- Entry 3_

_Toontown Central Middle School, 11:35 AM_

"When?" C-102 asked.

"When VP gives the orders, now be quiet, we don't want to draw any attention just yet," I replied.

C-102, D-102, E-102 and I were outside of Toontown Central Middle School. We were behind some very thick bushes waiting to hear from the VP. This was the day we would finally have those troublesome Daybreakers, I could just feel it. Garret and F-102 were in Elko searching for Jack Greene, who has probably been the most annoying Daybreaker out of the seven.

"Man, this is so uncomfortable," C-102 complained. "My legs are going numb."

"Shut up," I told him. "We will be able to get up soon, be patient."

At that moment, I heard a sound coming from my walkie talkie.

"102 cogs, come in!" It was VP.

"This is B-102, we are currently outside of Toontown Central Middle School," I said.

"Good," VP said. "You are now clear to proceed with the operation. Get in there and find the Daybreakers, good luck."

We got up from our squatting position and headed over to the front door of the school. D-102 started reaching for the door handle, but I stopped him.

"Wait, why don;t we knock?" I said. I sent both doors flying off their hinges with just one punch. "That felt good."

And with that said and done, we started our search for the three toons that have eluded our grasp for so long.

* * *

Garret sat in his helicopter, awaiting F-102's return. He had sent the cog to find whereabouts of the Greene family. At that moment, F-102 ran up to the helicopter, clutching a piecce of paper.

"I found this in a trashcan," F-102 said.

Garret looked over the paper. It read: _Jack Greene-Zach Osborne, Layla Greene-Lily Osborne, Ana Greene-Terry Osborne_

Garret was pleased now. "We will go to their house and wait for them to get home," Garret said. "Then we will take Jack."

"What about his sister and mother?" F-102 asked.

"We will kill them, they are not needed, I should have killed them two weeks ago."

F-102 nodded and they headed towards Zach Osborne's house.

"


	13. Chapter 13: Two Very Unexpected Visits

_Chapter 13: Two very unexpected visits_

The yellow dog, Principal James Granger heard something fly into the wall of the school building. He saw from his office window that four Mr. Hollywoods had broken into the building. He made a break for the office PA system.

"Code red!" He shouted over the intercom. "Cogs have broken into the school! This is not a drill! Get all children to safety, I will hold them off!" James ran into his office to retrieve his emergency gag bag, which he thought he would never have to use. He ran out in front of the four large cogs, blocking their path. The one in front smirked.

"I would advise you to step to the side," the leader said. "We are not here for you, but you shall be hurt if you don't get out of our way."

James stood his ground. "Leave. You are endangering hundreds of innocent children, there is nothing for you here."

"On the contrary, there is," the Mr. Hollywood shot back.

James sighed, knowing he didn't have any choice but to fight. He pulled out a blue box with a red button on it. He pressed it and geysers sprouted below the four cogs. The leader and one of the others side stepped it, but the other two were not so lucky. They were sent sky ward by jets of steaming water spouting below them. They hit the ceiling and landed on the floor head first. They were trying to stifle their laughs, but James could see they were on the edge of destruction.

"Fight it you two," The leader commanded them. "Remember, you laugh, you die."

While the cogs were talking, James fumbled in his gag bag for a birthday cake. He came up with one, but just as he looked up, a fist nailed him in the chest, sending him back ten feet. The leader had launched his fist off of himself like a speeding bullet. The hand quickly reconnected to the cog's arm. James got shakily to his feet, still holding the birthday cake. The leader was on his left knee, trying to help the two fallen cogs to their feet. They had thought James had been knocked out, but that was a big mistake. He took aim and hurled the birthday cake at the leader.

"Look out B-102!" the other cog that had not been damaged shouted.

The leader, B-102 got up and turned around just in time to be hit square in the face with the cake. He was on his knees, desperatly trying to hold in his laughter. James stood there praying that the cog would die, but it was all in vain. B-102 took a deep breath and got to his feet, he had held down the laughter.

"Impossible! you should be dead right now!" James shouted in frustration.

B-102 smirked. "Anything is possible toon, now say good night." He launched his fist at James again, this time sending him fifteen feet. He was on his back, now uncouncious.

"Hey!" B-102 heard somebody shout. A cream pie whizzed past his head and nailed C-102 in the face. He busted up laughing and gears started flying from his body.

* * *

Seventh grade green dog, Alex O'Bannon rounded the corner just in time to see Principal Granger fly across the hall. He saw four Mr. Hollywoods standing near the front office.

"Hey!" He shouted angrily as he launched a cream pie as hard as he could. He watched it fly past the cog in front and hit the cog trying to get to his feet. The cog started laughing so hard that there was no way he would survive. Alex watched as gears started to fly everywhere as the Mr. Hollywood died. He exploded and the other three cogs shielded their faces from the cog debris. Before the cogs could look his way, Alex made a break for his class room. Mr. Goop had asked him to check on Principal Granger, but had told him not to confront the cogs. Alex hadn't listened to him, but the sight of Principal Granger had angered him, which caused hm to take action against the intruders. He stormed into Mr. Goop's class room and slammed the door shut. The lights wre turned off and Mr. Goop and the rest of the class were huddled in a corner farthest from the door.

"Alex? Is everything alright?" Mr. Goop asked.

"We gotta get outta here!" Alex shouted. "The cog that attacked Toon HQ is here! We're gonna die if they get to us!" Several toons started panicing, one kid started yelling that he wanted his mommy.

"Calm down Alex," Mr. Goop said. "Cogs weren't programmed to kill, we don't need to worry about that."

"You don't get it," Alex said in frustration. "Those guys are out there beating the crap out of Principal Granger, he's out cold right now, if they wanted to they could easily kill him!"

"Alex-" Mr. Goop started but was cut off by the door being punched off its hinges by the leader. The three Mr. Hollywoods walked into the room. Several of the kids started panicing and begging for their lives. The one in the middle examined the toons sitting in the corner. He shook his head.

"They're not here. Next room." The three cogs walked out into the hallway and punched the door of the next classroom off its hinges. Again Alex heard the leader say "they're not in here. Next room."

"What in the world is going on here?" Alex asked in bewilderment. "Are those guys looking for someone?"

Mr. Goop shrugged. "Let's just hope whoever it is they're looking for isn't here today."

* * *

In every room it was the same thing. They go in only to find out that the Daybreakers aren't there. They had searched every single room in the school, but they did not have any luck. The three cogs walked out of the school cursing and shaking their heads.

"The VP is going to kill us," D-102 said.

"No doubt," E-102 agreed.

"Hey, way to be positive," B-102 muttered sarcasticly. He picked up a newspaper out of boredom.

"Well have you got any better ideas?" D-102 asked.

B-102 grinned. "As a matter of fact, I do." He held up the newspaper, whch had a story of Lily Sparklesmirk getting put in the hospital by B-102 on it. "I think we need to pay somebody in the hospital an unexpected visit."

* * *

Little Kippy walked into Lily's hospital room. She had a cast on her right arm and left leg and a few bandaes. Lily sat up to see who had come, then smiled.

""Hey, what are you doing here?" Lily asked.

"Well you know," Kippy said. "Just thought I'd drop by to see how you were doing."

"Thanks, but why aren't you at school?"

"Well I didn't wanna risk getting captured by those cogs, so I told my parents I felt horrible. They're at work right now, which is why I'm here."

The two friends started chatting away, gossiping and talking about clothes and yada yada yada. Kippy had lost track of time talking with her friend. A nurse walked into Lily's room.

"I'm very sorry, but you're going to have to leave," she said.

"Okay," Kippy said. She was about to say good-bye to Lily when she heard something fly into the front desk. It was... the door?

Lily's eyes went wide. "Oh God. It's them."

B-102 stormed into Lily's room. He had 102 cogs on either side of him.

"Well," he said. "Looks like we found a two for one deal boys." They started advancing towards Kippy and Lily, but the nurse blocked their path. B-102 grabbed the nurse by her head and slammed her head into the ceiling, and then he just dropped her.

One of his partners ran over to Lily and picked her up. Kippy stepped back and prepared to start fighting.

"Listen carefully," B-102 said. "If you show resistance, your friend here will die. If you want her to live, I'd suggest you come along quietly."

Kippy gritted her teeth. She knew he was right. They had her exactly where they wanted her. Kippy put her hands up in defeat. B-102 smirked.

"Good choice. D-102, grab her. We must go to Elko, Garret will be there."

* * *

Ace had been watching the whole time. He too had been on his way to visit Lily in the hospital, but when he was a block away from the building, he saw B-102 and his partners go in. After he had seen them, he ran to the hospital and hid behind some very thick bushes. A few minutes later, they came out carrying both Lily and Kippy. He had been near the window of Lily's room, so he had heard B-102 say that they needed to go to Elko. After they walked off, Ace got up from behind the bushes and followed them. He made sure that he stayed a good distance away from the three Mr. Hollywoods because if they spotted him, he would be screwed. The cogs did not fly to Sellbot HQ, as they were afraid that they would accedintly drop their hostages.

There was a big helicopter in front of the VP's office entrance. B-102 went into the office, and a few minutes later emerged with the VP. They all got into the helicopter. Ace was very suprised at the fact that the helicopter could even carry the weight of a cog boss like the VP. There was a trunk in back of the helicopter. Ace knew he would regret it later, but he ran over to the helicopter and hopped into the trunk. He hid behind a very large crate, which kept him from being seen. He thanked his lucky stars that no cogs on the outside had seen him and that there was a thick wall seperating the trunk from the very large seats up front.

"Will Garret be there?" The VP asked.

"Yes sir," B-102 said. "As will the CFO, the CJ, and the CEO. The opening of Zita's Gate will be a great day in cog history."

"Indeed," The VP said.

"Hey B-102, you left the trunk open," Ace heard one of the other Mr. Hollywoods say.

"My bad," B-102 said. He got out of the pilots seat and closed the trunk, not even noticing that Ace was there. A few minutes later, they took off for Elko.

* * *

_Elko Middle School, 2:47 PM._

Milton walked out of his sixth period class, social studies. I wonder where Zach went off to, he thought. He went to his locker to gather any books or spirals he would need to take home. After he was finished, Milton looked oer at Zach's locker, whch was three lockers down from his. There was something on the ground right below it. Milton picked it up. It was that journal Zach was always writing in. It must have fallen out of Zach's back pack without him knowing. Milton flipped it open to the first page and began to read.


	14. Chapter 14: The Meet Up

_Chapter 14: The Meet Up_

Garret was getting very restless. He had been inside the Osborne house since early morning, but he still had not seen Jack come into the house.

"That's it," he grumbled. "I'm not going to just sit here and wait any longer. Every minute they are not in our grasp means another minute they can use to figure out that we're here."

F-102 got up from the leather recliner he had been sitting in. "Are we going to search for him?" he asked.

"Yes, he will not be hard to find in a place like Elko." Garret's phone rang. He answered it and spoke into it.

"Speake B-102, was the mission a success?"

"Yes," B-102 replied. "However, one of them, Cool Ace was supposedly at his estate for the day, but we have Little Kippy and Lily Sparklesmirk."

"Excellent. We have Domino Spence held captive in our helicopter. How long before you reach Elko?"

"About half an hour, I would say," B-102 said. "The VP is with us, as well as D and E-102."

"What about C-102?"

"He was killed. Someone caught us by suprise. He or she ran before we could see who it was."

Another 102 cog had been destroyed. Garret would have to make note that they needed a better defence mechanism.

"I will see you when you arrive. We are continueing our search for Jack Greene. His name is now Zach Osborne, apperantly the one who defeated A-102. Keep an eye out for him."

And with that, he hung up. Garret and F-102 left the small house and headed towards the town.

* * *

_B-102's log: Entry 4_

We arrived in the small town of Elko around 3 PM. We landed in a large clearing in the woods so we would not draw attention to ourselves, because I'm sure toons wouldn't be too thrilled to see the VP roll out of a helicopter.

"We must go to Cog Nation, which is located under this town," VP said. "I am sure my fellow cog bosses will be waiting for us there."

We made our way into town and tried to keep from being seen. We stayed behind large buildings and bushes. We eventually came to a sewer lid which had a DO NOT ENTER sign over it.

VP sighed. "Damn officials. Looks like they found it."

I looked at him in suprise. "You mean this is the entrance? No offence sir, but how are you going to get down there?"

"There is another entrance made especialy for cog bosses. Go, I will catch up with you later." VP started rolling back towards the woods. The other 102 cogs had to be careful, as they were carrying Lily and Kippy with them. I lifted the lid, which turned out to be suprisingly light. D and E-102 jumped down into Cog Nation. I followed. What I saw absoulutely suprised me. The place was huge. It was filled with cogs of every kind, even skelecogs and v2.0 cogs. At the center of Cog Nation rested a huge generator, which must have powered all of the machines, as there were a very large number of them.

"Big, isn't it?" VP said. He had emerged from a giant door, the cog boss entrance. "This is the heart of the cog organization. This is where Zita was created." He pointed to the huge generator. "Believe it or not gentlemen, that generator powers every single Cog HQ in this world. That is why it is down here, where toons wouldn't be able to find it."

I was shocked. Just one generator could power Cog Nation AND all of the other HQs? I guess Garret must have been one of the smartest toons in the world to have created something this big.

VP looked in the direction of another huge door. "Come. We must get to the confrence room. The other cog bosses shall meet us there."

VP starting rolling himself towards the room. I followed close behind.

* * *

It had been about a good twenty minutes since they had left. It was probably safe to emerge. Ace opened the trunk and climed out of the helicopter. His eyes had to get used to the light, as he had been in total darkness for hours. He started walking towards town. He had to find Lily and Kippy. He also had to find Jack. He had to do what his dream had told him to do, he just knew it.

* * *

Milton had looked just about everywhere in town, but he couldn't find Zach. He had tried his house twice, but nobody had been home. He heaved a big sigh and decided to just go home. He was about to, when a multicolored dog came running up to him, gasping for breath.

"Hey," he said. "Have you seen a tall, maroon cat and a short, dark brown cat?"

"Um, no sorry," Milton said. He wanted this guy to leave him alone.

"Well," he said. "Have you seen a kid named Jack Greene?"

Milton's eyes lit up. This must have been one of Zach's old friends from his past life.

"Yeah," Milton said. "I have, he goes to my school now. Are you one of his friends?"

"Yep," he said. "My name's Cool Ace, I kinda came here without even thinking."

"Wait, you're one of the ones that got attacked by that Mr. Hollywood."

Ace's reply was cut off by the purple dog, Mark running up tp Milton.

"Master Milton I presume?" he said.

"Yeah," Milton replied. "Look, I told you I don't know where Jack is."

"I know," he said. "Zach Osborne is with me. He is safe, but I need you to come with me." He looked at Ace. "And you, Cool Ace."

* * *

Zach decided to read over his journal out of boredem. He zipped open his back pack and started rummaging through his notebooks and textbooks for it. He could not find it. Now realizing what might have happened, he poured his books out onto the floor. There was no journal. That's it, he thought. I'm freaking screwed. He sat up against the wall and started to go over possibilities. He could have left it in his room back at home. Impossible, he had written in it at school that morning. It had probably dropped out of his backpack. Someone had probably picked it up, as that is what he would've done. He heard the door open, and Mark walked in, along with Milton. And Ace? Mark stared at the mess of books on the ground. Milton zipped open his back pack.

"He was probably looking for this," Milton said, taking Zach's journal from it.

Zach stood up and Milton handed it to him. "Did you..?"

"Yeah," he said, acting pretty guilty. "I'm sorry Zach, I couldn't help it."

Zach sighed. "It's alright. They're already here anyway."

"Hold up," Ace said. "What's going on Jack? Why do they keep calling you Zach?"

Mark sat down on one of the hotel beds. "Allow me to explain."

* * *

Domino felt himself being yanked out of the helicopter. Te next thing he knew, he was staring into F-102's lifeless eyes. The Chairman was standing to the left of him.

"Come on," The Chairman ordered. "We've got a meeting to go to."

They started leading Domino into the town of Elko.


	15. Chapter 15: The Conference Room

_Chapter 15: The Conference Room_

_B-102's Log: Entry 5_

The place was huge. In the middle of the room, there was a long, wooden table. There were four leather chairs placed around it, large enough to fit only the four cog bosses. At the head of the table sat the Bossbot CEO himself, the latest, but most powerful cog boss in cog history. In the other chairs sat the Lawbot CJ and the Cashbot CFO. VP took his seat at the other end of the table.

"Where is Garret?" CEO asked.

"He is on his way sir," VP replied. "I'm sure he will be here any second."

CEO nodded, then looked at D-102, E-102, and I. "VP, why have you brought these mere Mr. Hollywoods into this?"

That made me angry. Who was he calling a mere Mr. Hollywood?

"Sir, these are three of the advanced 102 cogs I mentioned earlier. I assure you, they are very powerful," VP said.

CEO nodded. At that moment, Garret, along with Spence and F-102 walked into the room. He was carrying a piece of rolled up blue paper.

"Gentlemen," Garret started. "Thank you all for coming today. I have finally completed the design for the body that Zita will inhabit when he is brought into this world once again."

He walked over to the table. A platform under him rose until he was facing the cog bosses.

"Zita will need a new body if he wants to reach his full power." He unrolled the paper, revealing blueprints for a new cog boss design. The four cog bosses looked over it.

"B-102," VP said.

"Sir," I replied.

"I want you to fax these blueprints to The Foreman. Tell him to get started right way."

I nodded. I ran into the fax room and faxed the blueprints to The Foreman. When I came back, the cog bosses were discussing with each other.

"What about Jack Greene sir?" F-102 asked.

"Forget him," Garret replied. "We have three Daybreakers. We will go after Jack when Zita is here, but for now we must keep a low profile."

He looked at the three Daybreakers. "As for you three, you will be kept here. Take them away!"

* * *

_September 20th_

_It's been about three days since we got to this place. Mom said that we should just go to school to get our minds off of this whole thing. Mark says that he'll be keeping a close eye on us. Apparently, Mom enrolled Ace at our school, but he's not too happy about it. He thought he would get a break from school. Maybe Mom's right. School is the only place that can make me feel normal again. I just wish I could be normal all my life._

* * *

The day started out as any Monday morning would. Everybody was cranky and tired, wishing it was a holiday. Zach tried to take his mind off of the whole Daybreaker thing, but he knew he couldn't just make it go away. Milton was still acting like the witty guy he had always been. Ace was just tired and kept muttering complaints about having to go to a different school. Zach tried to focus on the lessons his teachers were giving, but he just couldn't focus on anything. He knew that nobody else outside the Daybreakers would ever feel the pain he felt at that point in time.

* * *

Zach found an empty table near the back of the lunch room, away from all of the other kids. His friends were not yet out of the lunch line, as they had been exceptionaly long that day. He looked around the large room, taking it all in, because he didn't know how many more times in his life he would see it. He could be dead in the time he had before October 1st. In the time of just about three weeks, his life had become a complete mess. His father was in jail, his family had to become the Osbornes, and now he was supposed to take part in some huge battle. Suddenly, he felt someone brush up against him. He turned his head to the right to see that Amy had sat down next to him.

"Hey Zach," she said. "Where'd you go on Friday?"

Zach shrugged. "You know. Doctors appointment."

"Really? But you left like not even an hour after you got here, and you never came back."

Amy was pretty smart, Zach gave her that. You really couldn't get anything like that past her.

"What's going on with you Zach? You've been so gloomy and unfocused today," she said, genuine worry in her voice.

She almost broke him right then and there. He was about to tell her everything, him being Jack Greene, cogs trying to hunt him down, and even him being destined to stop Zita. He changed his mind at the last second when he saw Milton and Ace walking towards their table. They took seats across from Zach and Amy.

"Sup you guys," Milton said.

Zach was amazed at how normal Milton was acting under their circumstances. His friend would probably be a perfect candidate for the WSP.

"Hi Milton," Amy said, then looked at Ace. "Oh, are you new here?"

"Yeah," Ace said. "The name's Cool Ace."

Eventually, Mike, Jamie, Harvey, and Scotty showed up at the table. The had conversations about normal things. They talked about the TFL (Toontown Football Leage) games, TV shows, and music. Zach felt his mood begin to lighten up. They had laughs and joked around, and for the first time in a while, Zach actually felt happy.

* * *

Domino was starting to get fed up with this whole kidnapping thing. He had been held by the cogs for about a week. He was fed, but the food was so bad that he might as well have been eating crap. He was in a cell, seperated from Kippy and Lily, being guarded by the jerk who had beat him down, B-102.

"You're pretty quiet over there toon," B-102 said. "That's very unusual of you."

"Why do you do this?" Domino asked.

"I do not know what you're talking about, be more specific."

"You helping The Chairman and the cogs with all of this Zita's gate stuff."

"You are a fool, Domino Spence. I am a cog, it is in my nature to oppose toons."

Domino got to his feet. "Think really hard about what you guys are doing. You're trying to destroy our home, the home we found way before you guys came along."

B-102 turned to face Domino. "You think we care? You toons are wasting your damn time with all of these worthless investments. Parties? Give me a break. We are simply trying to undo the mistakes you toons have made in your lives."

"That's not the point!" Domino shouted in rage. "We were here first! It's wrong for you to try to destroy our homes just because you don't like the way we run things. Even somebody as heartless as you should be able to understand that!"

At that moment, another 102 cog came into the room. "My shift," he said.

B-102 nodded and left. He knew Domino was right. What they were doing was wrong. But he was a cog, he couldn't turn his back on his own kind. Then again, Garret Martin had done just that without hesitation.

* * *

Mark Browning had faced many hardships in his life, and he was only twenty years old, which meant there would be much more. He had lost his brother, Jason Browning when he was fourteen years old. Jason had been only seven, a very young age. While Mark and his father, Matthew, had been training in Pajama Place, Jason had wandered off into the depths of Cashbot HQ. That was Matthew's mistake, bringing Jason to a place near a Cog HQ. Jason had seen the big door on the other side of the HQ, the CFO's office. He thought it looked cool and he wanted to go inside of it. However, he walked onto one of the train tracks and stopped when he heard the train whistle. The last thing Jason ever saw was the train's front light. The light of the train that had killed him. Mark and his father ran into the HQ just as Jason was hit. Mark was ashamed of it, but he broke down right there. It had been their fault that Jason died, and there was nothing they could do about it.

* * *

Mark sat in his and Zach's hotel room watching the monitors of the Elko Middle School survelliance cameras. Since he worked for the Toontown Secret Agency, he was allowed access to any security camera in Toontown. He looked at the clock on his bedside table. It read 2:43 PM. Their school let out at 2:45 PM, so they would be arriving in the next half hour. Lily was at Elko High School, and Terry was working at her book store. Terry wouldn't be getting off work until late, so it was Mark's job to look after the kids. That was something he hadn't done since he had babysat Jason. That thought made his heart feel heavy.

* * *

_September 29th_

_It's almost time. In two days, it'll be October 1st. Things have been pretty quiet, but Mark says that's a very bad sign. If they're not coming after us, then that must mean they have already found all of the Daybreakers they need. I'm about to go to school, which might be my very last day, because I'm not going tomorrow. Tomorrow, we go to Zita's Gate to try and stop The Chairman. Soon this will be over. I can hardly wait._


	16. Chapter 16: Into The Void

_Chapter 16: Into The Void_

**Time until Zita's Gate opens: 40 hours.**

It was done. The Foreman and a group of other sellbots stepped back to admire their work. They had spent over a week building Zita's ultimate body. It was built similar to the VP, but there were some differences. The same power source used to power the 102 cogs was used instead of the normal cog boss source. The suit on the cog was entirely black, to represent Zita's dark nature. His outside structure was near unbreakable, which was also the same material all other cog bosses had. They had not given it anything that gave it a mind of its own. Zita would provide that resource when he claimed the body.

"Get this on a helicopter," Foreman said. "I'm taking it to Elko."

* * *

Zach was extremely stressed out. He had to go to Cog Nation the next day, the most dangerous place he could think of. Even Milton was stressed. He hadn't slept at all the night before and made the mistake of dozing off in Giles's class. She slammed a ruler down on Milton's desk.

"Holy crap!" Milton shouted. He quickly sat up and came face to face with Giles.

"Master Milton!" She said. "I don't appreciate it when kids fall asleep in my class. Do you have an explanation to why you did?"

Milton bit back his anger. He wanted to swear at Giles, but he stayed calm.

"Sorry," he said. "I culdn't fall asleep last night."

Giles backed off a little. "Master Milton, you have seemed very stressed as of late, in fact." She looked at Zach and Ace. "All three of you have. What's going on?"

The three friends exchanged worried glances. They couldn't tell her the truth, as nobody would believe them. If they told, they would get most likely get locked up in the wacky shack.

"I don't know about them," Milton said. "I'm just tired, that's all."

Giles had a look of doubt on her face, but didn't say anything more. She went back to her desk while Milton got back to work.

"That was too close," Zach whispered to his friends.

"Yeah," Ace agreed. "We have to be more careful. Mark's counting on us."

* * *

"Zach, Milton, come here for a second," Coach Holiday said.

Zach and Milton were in PE, playing basketball with their friends. They told them they'd be right back and walked over to Coach Holiday.

"Yes sir?" Zach said.

"I've been watching you two play ball for a few weeks now," Holiday said. "You two are pretty good three-point shooters. I was wondering if you guys were interested in being on the 7th grade basketball team in late October."

Zach and Milton exchanged excited glances.

"Are you kidding?" Milton said. "That's awesome! I'm in for sure."

"Same here," Zach said.

"Great to hear," Holiday said. "I still want you to come to tryouts so I can test your other skills. Well, you're free to go now."

They went over to their friends. Zach was excited and sad at the same time. He didn't know if he would make it to the end of October. At least something good had finally happened to him. Zach felt a flicker of hope, maybe he would live, the possibilities were never ending.

* * *

"It doesn't seem right," Terry said. She had stayed at the hotel that day because of the flu. "They're kids Mark."

"I know," Mark replied. "But understand this, it was never my decision to make. It was written into time the day they were born. They must face their destiny."

"But why at such a young age?" Terry asked.

"Look at adults," Mark said. "They do more horrible things than a kid could ever do. If you look closely, pureness can only be found in people like Zach, a brave and caring person. Adults are often more selfish than kids. But kids like Zach are willing to risk their lives for someones elses. That is why the Daybreakers are children."

Terry started sobbing. She didn't want Zach to to die. But she knew Mark was right. Zach had to step up to the plate and face Zita. She couldn't hold his hand forever. If what Mark said was true, then Zach had powers that would aid him in very extreme emergencies.

"Everything's gonna be alright," Mark said. "Zach is more powerful than you can imagine, more powerful than even he can imagine."

* * *

_B-102's Log: Entry 6_

I've been thinking about what Domino said. He had called me heartless, something that all cogs had to deal with, except me. It is still strange to me, but I seem to have developed some emotions. I thought maybe it was because I'm a 102 cog, but that can't be it. All of the other ones are just as emotionless as normal cogs. I can't tell anyone, or they will shut me down. I'm afraid of dying, afraid of angering the VP so much that he would shut me down. All other cogs would face life or death situations without a second thought. I wish I was like other cogs, but now I have something that they don't, something they could never understand. I had a heart, and I knew that it was a gift from God, a gift he gave me for a reason, a reason that I have yet to figure out. That is how I think, that everything happens for a reason, no coincidences. If I ever get the chance, I'm going to thank Domino for saying what he said.

* * *

The bell rang, signaling that it was the end of school. Zach, Ace, and Milton left Social Studies and went to their lockers. They were silent, not going over to other kids' lockers to talk or tell them bye. While Zach was getting his Math binder, something fell out of his locker. It was a note. Zach bent down and picked it up. He unfolded the paper and read:_ I'm worried about you. Meet me in front of the school at 5 PM. _Zach read over it three times, then stuffed it in his pocket. The three friends left school, walking side by side. When they got to the hotel, Mark was watching a football game, not really looking like he was paying that much attention to it. He switched the TV off when he saw that they had arrived.

"I know how you guys must be feeling. I don't blame you. None of you deserve what has made its way into your lives, but you are cooperating with it anyway. I commend you on that."

"When do we leave?" Zach asked.

"Tomorrow around noon. We must find Zita's Gate and get there before The Chairman does. We are going to take them by suprise and take your friends back."

"That's easier said than done," Milton muttered. "Those beefed up cogs'll smash us. There'll probably be tons of them, not just one."

"I've got that covered," Mark said. "We're going to have back up, a lot of back up. They won't know what hit them til it's way too late."

"I hope you're right," Ace said. "If we screw up, then it's game over."

"Don't think that way," Mark said. "We must stay confident if we hope to beat Zita."

* * *

Zach arrived at the front of Elko Middle School at 5:03 PM.

"Hey," a voice called.

Zach turned around to see Amy staring back at him. He was a bit speechless, she looked fantastic. She was wearing a tight T-shirt and a skirt above her knees. She must have been the one who sent him the note. Amy walked up to him.

"Why am I here?" Zach asked.

"Please Zach," Amy said. "I can tell when something is troubling you."

"Amy," Zach said. "I wish I could tell you, but I can't. It would put me in danger."

Amy stared at him with her intense green eyes. "Who are you Zach?"

Zach closed his eyes. "Amy...."

Amy pulled a piece of paper from her pocket. It was a piece of a newspaper article. Zach took it and read over it. It had a picture of him from when he had played basketball for a travel team the December before. Under the picture, it read: _Jack Greene, picture taken December 6th. Last seen on August 27th. _Zach let the article fall from his hand.

"I saw my mother reading it," Amy said. "I knew it was you as soon as I looked at it."

Zach stared at the ground. He felt like a boulder was strapped to his back.

"I understand how you feel Zach," she said.

"How? How could you possibly understand how I feel?" Zach said bitterly.

Amy embraced him. Zach suddenly felt comfort as Amy held him in her arms.

"Because," she said. "My real name isn't Amy Grant."

* * *

_We're about to leave for Cog Nation. This could be my last entry ever, so I'm making it count. My real name is Jack Greene. My father, Eric Greene was arrested for being a part of an illegal weapons cartel. After three toons broke into our house, we were put into the Witness Security Program and left for Elko. My name is now Zach Osborne, and I am a Daybreaker. If you are reading this, and it's my last entry, then that must mean I am dead and that Toontown has been defeated. Okay, Mark's telling me it's time to go. If you're reading this, then don't give up hope, keep fighting until your final breath. I am Jack Oliver Greene and I am a Daybreaker._


	17. Chapter 17: Zita's Gate

**A/N: Alright, this is the LAST chapter of Zita's Gate. Thank you to all who have read and supported this story. After this chapter, there will still be an Epilouge to come.**

**Zach Osborne, Mark Browning, Master Milton, Lily Osborne, Terry Osborne, Eric Greene, B-102, Zita, and Garret Martin all belong to me.**

**Cool Ace, Little Kippy, Lily Sparklemirk, and Domino Spence are some of my friends from Toontown Online. **

**VP, CFO, CJ, CEO, belong to Disney.**

*** * ***

_Chapter 17: Zita's Gate_

**Time until Zita's Gate opens: 12 hours**

They were all gathered in the empty, huge, and ancient room. In the middle of it rested Zita, or the body Zita would inhabit. Garret Martin, the 102 cogs, and the four cog bosses all stood side by side, admiring the piece of work Foreman had built.

"Everything we have done has all led up to this day," CEO said. "The day that Zita walks upon this planet once again will be the day that Toontown is turned to rubble."

"What will we do with the citizens of Toontown?" CFO asked.

"We will imprison them," Garret replied. "And we will kill the ones we don't have room for."

VP turned to B-102. "Go get the Daybreakers, B-102."

B-102 nodded and made his way towards the custody center of Cog Nation. He came to Domino's cell first.

"It is time," he said. "October 1st is tomorrow, your time is just about up."

B-102 unlocked Domino's cell and grabbed him. After he had retrieved all three of them, he returned to the large room. VP proceeded to handcuff their hands to three chairs in front of Zita's body.

"Savor this day," VP said coldly. "For there shall be no tomorrow for you."

Garret spoke into his walkie-talkie. He then looked at the cog bosses.

"The Foreman will be here with the rest of our supplies soon," he said. "Let's get set up gentlemen. We must have no delays for this to work."

* * *

Zach, Milton, Ace, and Mark stood near a sewer lid with a DO NOT ENTER sign taped across it. Mark had told Lily and Terry that it would be best for them not to come, as they were not a part of what was happening.

"Where's this back up you told us about earlier?" Ace asked.

"They have entered already," Mark replied. "They will show themselves when they are needed. Now is not that time." He stared down at the lid. "I must tell you three that after we go through this hole, there will be no turning back. This is your destiny, and you can't run away from it."

Zach nodded. He was going to do this for Amy, for his family, and for Toontown. He wasn't afraid anymore, because he wasn't all alone in the world. There were six others just like him, and many others willing to help him.

"Hey," Milton said. "When we come back from this, and I do mean when, let's all go out for double cheeseburgers. Mark'll pay."

Mark grinned. "That's what I like to hear. We are going to come back from this alive."

Zach lifted the lid off of the hole. Mark went first, followed by Milton, then Zach, then Ace. They had entered Cog Nation, the resting place of Zita himself.

* * *

The Cog Nation Supervisor, a Robber Baron was watching the monitors of the security cameras. He had a comforting job away from all of the destruction many cogs had to face every day. He had been alive for nine years and had never even had to face a toon. Just as he was about to doze off, he saw something. Four dogs dropped onto the ground in the lobby. The bigger dog pointed one way and they found the Cog Nation guide, a map of the whole entire HQ. Supervisor got up from his leather chair and slammed his fist down on a big red button.

* * *

Mark pointed to a spot on the map that was marked Z.

"That has to be it," Ace said. "No doubt about it."

Zach and Milton didn't hear them. They were too busy noticing how there were absolutely no cogs in the main lobby.

"Why is this place so empty?" Zach asked.

Mark turned away from the map and looked around the huge, empty room.

"That's strange. There should be at least a few dozen here," Mark said.

He then looked above him to see a camera staring straight at him.

"Aw, dammit," Mark muttered.

A split second after he spoke, a loud alarm went off, and a red light started flashing. Doors started sliding open, and cogs started emerging from them. They cornered the four of them at the Cog Nation Guide. Luckily, Mark had planned for this. He rummaged through his backpack and came up with two TNT gags. He lit them and quickly hurled them both into the sea of cogs. They started taking cog tools like rubber stamps, buzz words, and double talks, but it was too late. Just as they were preparing to strike, the TNT's exploded. Right before that, Mark pulled the three Daybreakers into a random room and slammed the door. When they emerged, there were cog pieces all over the place, cracks in the walls, and the camera had been totaled.

"That was way too close," Milton said.

"Yeah," Mark said. "I planned on that happenng. Don't worry though, that had to be about half of the cogs on duty here."

He pointed towards a long, dark corridor.

"That path will eventually take us to Zita's Gate." He stared walking towards it. "Stay together, and if you think you're lost, yell for help."

Zach, Ace, and Milton followed closely behind. They were completely unaware of the cog hiding in the shadows. Mr. Hollywood, G-102 stepped out from behind the generator. He had been built the day before and had immediately been sent to Elko. He pulled a walkie talkie from his pocket.

"Hello Mr. Chairman. The lobby trap has failed, Zach Osborne, Cool Ace, Master Milton, and Mark Browning are moving towards Zita's Gate as we speak."

"Mark?" Garret said, clearly appaled. "It seems we have a traitor on our hands. He will pay dearly for his mistake. Follow them G-102, but don't let them find out about it."

"Yes sir," G-102 replied. "Over and out."

He placed the walkie-talkie back into his pocket and started walking slowly towards the dark corridor.

* * *

Domino, Kippy, and Lily were alone in the huge room with B-102 gaurding them. Garret and the other 102 cogs and bosses had gone to retrieve the needed supplies from The Foreman.

"This is my fault," Kippy said glumly. "If I had stayed home, this wouldn't be happening."

"No," Lily said, shaking her head. "It would've happened, but you just wouldn't be here. They had known where I was."

"Lily's right Kippy," Domino said. "What we never should have done was go to the HQ the day of the attack. I would have never gotten taken, Lily wouldn't have been in the hospital, and we would have all stayed home on the 17th."

Lily looked down at her casts. They hadn't even taken into consideration that she was badly hurt and didn't need all of the pushing around the cogs did to them.

"What's gonna happen to us?" Kipy asked, her voice full of fear.

"Not something good," B-102 said. "Zita will probably keep you alive, but he will torture you. He won't kill you, as that will be putting you to rest."

He turned around and walked in front of the three toons. He knelt down in front of Domino.

"Domino Spence, what you said to me has given me a diffrent view on good and evil. You have helped me to see that our actions are.....wrong."

Domino was confused. "But how? Cogs aren't capable of something like that. You said it yourself it was in a cog's nature."

"That is true, however I am not a normal cog. As crazy as it might sound, I have emotions."

Domino couldn't think of something else to shoot back at him. What had come out of the Mr. Hollywood's mouth just then had turned his whole world upside down.

"I am very sorry for what I must do, but there is no turning back for me. If I betray the cogs, there will be nothing left for me. The Cog Nation will look down on me with distaste and the toons will never trust me no matter what I do."

He got to his feet and walked over to the place he had been standing just a few minutes before. He was very sorry that he was ever created. He wanted to make the pain go away, but he was very much afraid of death, so he couldn't destroy himself. It was a very strange wish for a cog, but he wished that he could be a toon and fight for something that was worth fighting for.

* * *

_Zach could not believe what had just come out of Amy's mouth. He pulled away from her hug and stared at her in shock._

_"That's right," she said. "I'm like you, Zach. I had to move away from my home and friends when I was just ten years old."_

_Zach stared at a tree to avoid looking into Amy's piercing green eyes. _

_"What happened?" He asked._

_"There was this man," she Started. "He used to be Dad's partner on the police force. A few months before my birthday, Dad got this huge promotion and became a secret agent. During the time that followed, we were truly happy. We had a lot of money and my parents were doing great with their jobs."_

_She sighed and her ears started to droop. _

_"But then," she said. "Dad's former partner became reckless and made a huge mistake. Dad had no choice but to fire him. He didn't take it well. A few weeks later, we started recieving letters, e-mails, and phone calls that contained dath threats in them. And they were all from my Dad's old partner. Dad eventually told authorities about it. He told us that we were going to be put into the WSP, and from there our lives went down-hill. We moved out to Daisy Gardens on my tenth birthday. About a year later, Dad left for Elko so he could be far away from us, just in case his former partner came looking for us."_

_Zach finally looked her in the eye._

_"I think you know what happened next," she said. "Two years later, we thought it was safe, so my mom and I came here to Elko so we could be a family again, but then.."_

_A tear fell from her eye. _

_"He was killed," Zach finished. "Neil didn't die in vain Amy. He helped alot of people, including my family. He helped us relocate and change our names. When he died, he left behind information that Mark Browning used to find and warn my family."_

_Amy smiled and took Zach's hand. _

_"Zach," she said. "You're alright."_

_She looked at the heart shaped watch on her wrist. _

_"I have to go," she said. "See you tomorrow."_

_"Sure," Zach said. Oh no you won't, Zach thought. _

_They went their seperate ways._

_* * *_

Zach wondered if he would ever get the chance to ask what Amy's real name was. They had been walking down the corridor for eight minutes, and it didn't look like it was ending any time soon.

"I'm so bored," Milton complained. "This freaking thing is endless. We should have brought a go-kart or something."

Mark chuckled. "I didn't know it would be so long. Whoever built this place must have a lot of free time on their hands."

"Yeah, no kidding," Ace said. "It could be night time by the time we get there."

"What are we going to do once we get there?" Zach asked.

"That depends," Mark said. "If they are about to perform the ritual, we rush them. If they're not, we wait until they leave. We grab your friends and get the heck out of here."

"Hope it works out that way," Ace muttered.

* * *

The Supervisor was still watching them, letting them think that they were home free. He then saw them about to come upon his next trap. He smiled and walked over to another button. It was time for round two, and the trap he was about to unleash was deadly. He pressed the small blue button next to the big red button.

* * *

The four dogs heard something starting to rumble. They stopped walking and waited for it to stop. When it passed, they saw part of the wall slide into a small opening in the ceiling a good fifteen feet in front of them. Mark's eyes widened into the size of dinner plates.

"Oh God," he said.

A giant Mr. Hollywood, about forty feet tall and probably wieghing two tons walked out of the doorway that had been created.

"What the hell is that?!" Zach shouted.

"Fools," Mr. Hollywood said. "Your worthless quest ends here. Zita shall be awakened, and you will not get in our way."

The four of them started hurling cream pies straight towards the giant's face. He winced, but kept walking towards them. Mark came up with a TNT gag and hurled it towards Mr. Hollywood's face. It exploded on impact, and sent him back ten feet. He was on his back, motionless. Mark breathed a sigh of relief. They walked towards the giant and looked down at him. His hand shot up and grabbed all four of them.

"Ha!" He shouted. "You're the most gullible bunch of toons I've ever faced! Prepare to say good-night."

Mr. hollywood dropped them. Zach landed on his back, and pain shot through his body, then he was overcme by blackness.

* * *

The Supervisor smiled. He had won, the intruders had been stopped. There was nothing standing in Zita's way. He pulled a walkie talkie from his pocket.

"Hello Mr. Chairman, the intruders have been stopped."

"Good," Garret replied. "Leave them where they are for now, we will take care of them when Zita is here. Good work Supervisor, I knew you would not let me down."

"Yes sir," Supervisor said. "Good-bye Mr. Chairman."

He placed the walkie-talkie on the table in front of him. He decided that he had earned a well-deserved nap. He propped his feet up on his desk and felt himself starting to doze off.

* * *

**Time until Zita's Gate opens: 2 hours**

"Zach, Zach! Wake up!" Mark said.

Zach felt groggy and sore. They were still in the long corridor, and it seemed the giant Mr. Hollywood had gone back to where he had come from. He sat up and saw that all three of his friends were already on ther feet.

"Ow, what happened?" Zach asked.

"The giant cog dropped us," Mark told him. "I'm just glad he wasn't holding us high enough to kill us. We have to start moving now, it's 10:03 PM. The gate opens in about two hours."

"Whoa," Milton said. "We were asleep for THAT long?"

"I'm afraid so Milton. We've still got time though, but we're gonna have to run. Who knows how long this thing is."

Zach shakily got to his feet. Nothing was broken, thank the lord. He nodded to signal that he was okay. The four friends took off full speed ahead down the corridor.

* * *

Garret, the 102 cogs, and the four cog bosses stood around Zita's Gate, overcome by anxiety. Just two more hours, and the cogs would be unstoppable. Garret's dreams would finally be fulfilled. He would finally become the president of Toontown, no, not Toontown. He would become the president of Cog Nation, the city he would build in Toontown's place. He would throw that fool Flippy in jail and let him rot there for eternity. He would finally live a life of luxury. CEO rolled himself to the center of the room.

"Gentlemen," he started. "For years now we have been fighting, and losing, a great war. But that will end tonight! After Zita is released, we will send our forces all over Toontown and we will capture any toon in sight. We will then smash everything and build the ultimate Cog Nation! A new era is upon us, an era of darkness and triumph."

"Well said CEO," Garret told him.

He looked at the three toons that would make his dream come true.

"Don't worry," he said. "Maybe you'll find some enjoyment working for us the rest of your worthless lives. But most likely not."

Domino swore at him. Garret resisted the urge to smack him upside the head.

"I would watch my mouth if I were you toon," CFO said. "The worse you act, the more we shall hurt you."

"Hold on," F-102 said. "Be quiet for a second."

The room fell silent. Everyone was frozen in place.

"It sounds like a fuse is about to go off," F-102 said, confused.

Garret's eyes widened. "Get away from the door!"

* * *

After a good bit of time had passed, they had finally found the door. Mark put a finger to his lips, telling the other three to stay quiet. Mark crept silently to the door and placed two TNT's on the door. He lit them and ran back to where the other three were standing. Zach heard somebody yell. It sounded like a mouse's voice. A secon later, the TNT's exploded and the door flew off its hinges. The Mr. Hollywood that had been standing in front of the door got hit by the door and went flying. He slammed into the wall and fell on his front side. Mark walked into the room holding two wedding cakes.

"Browning," Garret growled. "You dare show your face here after you have betrayed the cogs?!"

"You should have seen it coming, Mr. Chairman. You're the only toon in this world that would pledge allegiance to these metal idiots."

VP edged towards Mark a little.

"A shame we must kill you now," he said. "We usually don't resort to that, but betrayal is unforgivable. You are a fool for coming here alone."

"He's not alone," Zach cut in defiantly.

Zach, Ace, and Milton walked into the room and stood beside Mark. All four of them had wedding cakes in both hands. They were willing to risk their lives in the battle they were about to take part in. The room was the size of two school gyms, so they had plenty of room to go buck wild.

"Attack!" The Chairman shouted.

The four dogs split up, along with the four cog bosses. Mark came fact to fae with the CEO, Zach faced the CJ, Milton faced the CFO, and Ace faced the VP.

"Time for you to die traitor," CEO said.

He took out his driver and sent golf balls flying at Mark. He quickly side stepped them, then hurled one of the wedding cakes towards CEO. It was a hit straight to the face.

"Argh!" CEO yelled, holding back laughter.

Mark hurled his other cake like he was pitching a baseball. Another hit to the face. CEO sent more golfballs at Mark. It seemed he would have to try something else. He hit a red button and a storm cloud appeared above CEO. He was hit with a storm, and a robotic voice came from CEO's chest.

"EMERGENCY! EMERGENCY! EMERGENCY!" It said. "SYSTEM FAILING! EMERGENCY SHUT DOWN HAS BEEN APPROVED!"

CEO's body went limp, his red eyes no longer glowing. Mark sighed in relief and turned to see how his friends were holding up. It seemed they were having trouble, as they were not as experienced in battle as Mark was. He decided to go help them, but then saw something that terrified him. Garret was performing the ritual. The symbols on the floor started to glow. He started running full speed towards Garret. He was going to tackle him and shut him up. Instead. he ran smack into a metal body. Once he recovered, he found that F-102 had blocked his path.

"I don't think so," he growled. "You're going to pay dearly for what you did to me a few minutes ago."

F-102 thrusted his fist out and it connected with Mark's chest. He went back ten feet, and was out cold.

"MARK!" Ace shouted.

That gave the VP an opening to lash out and nail Ace, knocking him out. The ritual was almost complete. The symbols on the floor were emitting a blinding light, but Garret did not care, as this was his moment. Suddenly, a dark spirit appeared before Garret. Zita was here, Garret had won.

"You," Zita said. "Are you the one who has set me free from this horrible realm?"

"Yes, my lord," Garret said. "You will find your body is right below you."

Zita looked down at the black body.

"Ah yes," he said. "A fine vessel this shall make."

Zach and CJ stood frozen as they watched Zita assume his new form.

"You're too late," CJ mocked. "Toontown will be ours."

Zach saw that as an opening. He proceeded to slam a birthday cae into CJ's chest. He started an emergency shut down. Zach ran towards Garret and rammed him, knocking him out of the way. He was now face to face with Zita, the source of all his misery. Milton saw Zach and ran away from his battlewith the CFO.

"Fool!" CFO shouted. "Come and face me!"

Zach and Milton stood side by side. They still had a chance. They could feel their powers starting to well up inside of them. Mark had been right all along, their power would come soon enough.

"What is this? You children dare try to oppose me?" Zita scoffed, now in his new cog body.

"Go back!" Zach shouted. "This is our world! You don't belong here!"

"Fools, prepare to die."

Zach and Milton nodded at each other. They lashed out at Zita, finally using their powers. Zita howled in pain, clutching his chest.

"Agh...you...fools....Daybreakers."

Zach could feel the power from his friends coursing through him. They had to hold up afew seconds longer and Zita would die, but they were at their limits. Out of the corner of his eye, Zach saw something speeding towards them. It nailed Zach and Milton and they were both sent flying off of their feet. When they landed, they were out cold. Zita's body became motionless and Garret sat up.

"What?!" He shouted in rage. "T-they killed him?"

"Certainly not, Mr. Chairman," F-102, the one who had hit Zach and Milton said. "Zita is still very mch alive, but it seems they managed to severely wound him."

He checked Zita's curcuit boards.

"He is simply shut down. It may take months to repair him, but there's no doubt he is alive."

The room started to shake. Pieces of ceilings hit the floor. The room was starting to fall apart.

"Come on!" F-102 shouted. "We must go!"

The VP and CFO grabbed the CJ, CEO, and Zita and ran out first, followed by Garret and the 102 cogs, except B-102. He looked around at all of the toons still in the room. The toons that did not deserve the pain they were getting. He knew what he had to do. It was time for him to make a change in his life.


	18. Epilogue

_Epilogue_

Zach felt himself starting to come to. He opened his eyes and saw a black sky. At first he thought that maybe he was dead, but then he realized he was on the sidewalk of Elko. He sat up to see Mark, Ace, Milton, Domino, Lily, and Kippy laying on the ground. He stood up and realized that he was more sore than he had ever been in his entre life.

"You're awake," came a voice Zach knew all too well. He turned around to see Mr. Hollywood, B-102. Zach removed a seltzer bottle from his backpack and aimed it at him.

"Don't come any closer," he warned.

"Don't worry Osborne," he replied. "I have not come to fight. I am the one who rescued you and your friends from facing your dooms. You should show a little thanks."

Zach put the bottle away, stunned that a cog had just saved his life. He only had one word that seemed appropriate for that moment.

"Why?"

"Because I have a free will, and I won't use it to work for an organization as cruel and evil as the cogs."

"Well, what are you going to do now?" Zach asked. "The cogs won't forgive you after saving us."

B-102 shrugged. "I am strong Zach. I can take care of myself, so you don't need to worry about me."

"So that's it huh?"

"I guess it is,' B-102 said. "I'll be seeing you."

The strange cog flew up into the night to start his new life. It seemed like even a cog was capable of becoming a hero. Like he thought before, the possibilities were never ending.

* * *

After my friends woke up, we all headed back to the hotel room. Imagine Mom's suprise when seven people poured into me and Mark's hotel room. She was just glad we had come back alive. We celebrated by going out for burgers, and of course, Mark paid. There were laughs and jokes all around and I was just happy to be alive. I didn't tell them that B-102 had saved us. I have a feeling they wouldn't believe me, and I guess they haven't considered the face that we all woke up above Cog Nation. I don't know what happened to The Chairman, but I have a feeling we didn't quite get rid of that jerk this time. I figured that Zita was back in that place he had been trapped in, but I was wrong.

* * *

Milton had walked back to his house, Ace, Lily, and Kippy had caught a flight back to Toontown Central. Domino's dad was coming to Elko and they were gonna stay for a few days. Domino and I were at my house watching a football game. At halftime, we heard the door bell ring. Domino didn't look like he was gonna get up to answer it so I got up and opened the door.

"Hello Zach," Mark said. "Can I come in?"

I let him in and he took a seat on the couch oppisite the one Domino was sitting in.

"What's going on?" Domino asked.

"Guys," Mark started. "You're not going to like hearing this at all, but Zita is still here on this planet."

"WHAT?" Domino and I both shouted.

"You and Milton only hurt him enough to shut him down. He is still very much alive."

I heaved a big sigh. "Will he ever wake up?"

"Yes, he will," Mark said. "But you and Milton hurt him so badly that it won't be for another few months at least."

A few months. At least I had some time to chill out, but I knew it wouldn't last. Mark got up and headed towards our front door.

"I'll be keeping a close eye on you guys. I will also begin the search for the final Daybreaker."

He left and nothing made any noise except for the football game halftime show.

"Looks like we're at least gonna get a vacation," Domino said.

I grinned. "Yeah. I guess we don't need to worry about this thing until we need to."

I thought it was the end, but I was wrong. We were heading towards a new beginning.

* * *

The screams of agony were heard all throughout the neighborhood of Toontown Central. Alex O'Bannon was sitting in his living room, alone watching a football game, when his father walked into the house bearing sad news.

"Alex," he started. "It's your friend, Jake Tyler."

"So?" Alex said. "What about him?"

Alex didn't know it then, but the next words that came out of his father's mouth completely changed the course of his normal, boring life.

"He's dead."

**To be continued....**

**in The Daybreakers book 2: Darkness Rising.**


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